The most experimental trio on the British folk scene move on, once again. Lau are an exhilarating live band, thanks to the often improvised, complex interplay between fiddle, accordion, guitar and electronica. Now, working with producer Joan Wasser (AKA Joan As Police Woman), they have switched direction once again. In some ways it’s a more conventional album, dominated by songs. Guitarist Kris Drever is on fine and thoughtful voice on every track, at times accompanied by edgy, stomping electric guitar riffs and throbbing electronics, and Aidan O’Rourke adding jaunty fiddle work. But the album changes direction dramatically for the 17-minute title track, in which they are joined by the strings of the Elysian Quartet for a piece that matches lyrical passages and discord before eventually easing into pleasantly languid vocals from Drever and a pained chorus: “Nobody knows where you’re going / No one thinks to tell you.” It’s bravely adventurous.
