Infinite Blue

Dirty Linen - "...The perfomances are uniformly subtle and rich....A superior, captivating disc."

This turns out to be the only album this particular lineup of the Poozies made, and that's a shame, since it's such a good record, as well as being the most adventurous. Both "Neptune" and "Ma Plaid" echo work done by another folk artist, Eliza Carthy, in their arrangements and overall feel, while "Maja's Brudvals" travels to Sweden -- not a big step since accordionist Tweed also plays with Swap. While the heartbeat largely remains Scottish, with one foot very firmly planted in traditional music, they do look further outside. Yorkshire lass Rusby brings a vocal assurance to the proceedings that had been missing on earlier albums, and a focal point around which to build songs, while still making her contributions felt in the instrumental sets. This is where the Poozies really seem to blossom and become a real band, as opposed to an aggregation of talents playing together. Anyone who can do equal justice to a tune by the wonderful Jo Freya and arrange a Robert Burns song ("The Shepherd's Wife"), then finish off by breezing through a John McCusker piece, has both style and range. Without a doubt, their best record to this point. ~ Chris Nickson|