Customer Reviews

Solar Shears

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This Scottisch band got me off my feet this morning at 9 am. which is unusual. I am not "awake" after 3 cups of coffee, but I was dancing already on their very catchy beats while MAKING my coffee. I love the fact, that no synths were used. Acoustical instruments instead give a very different flavor than synths over the heavy bass and drums. Yes there are many samples used and I am sure a great deal of studio production. Some of the tunes will be hard to reproduce live, unless they use recordings at their shows.
One technical flaw crept in on this CD. It seems that a few seconds pause have been inserted between many songs that should have faded in one another. You clearly hear the end of the previous song hang over in the next even after a full 2 second break. (it is not my CD player, I tested this on several others with the same result).
Nonetheless, the music on this CD is what counts and it is fresh and original. I recommend this CD to everyone who likes music that is a nice mix of today's dance beats with traditional instruments. It best can be described as "Fat Boy Slim Goes Country".

I enjoy a variety of Scottish Rock and tradition music, and got this CD last year via import. The music is nice, and interesting, and more or less what I expected from Shooglenifty. However, I find that whenever I put it in the CD, I tune it out by the time the CD is halfway through. There doesn't seem to be enough difference among the songs on the album, so that it sometimes feels as though I'm listening to only one or two long tracks.

The tracks are nice, and for background music I enjoy it. But it doesn't make me stop what I'm doing and focus on the music.

As someone who enjoys both the techno music scene and traditional Scottish and Irish music I was amazed at how well Shooglenifty combined two different genres into such a smooth blend of fun and funk. The album has joined the ranks in my permanent work collection, allowing me to smile at least once a day when one of the numbers comes up in the random rotation. An excellent way to enjoy new music out of Scotland!

I was first introduced to Shooglenifty by my girlfriend, who is a huge fan. I enjoyed "Whiskey Kiss" but was blown away by "Solar Shears". Solar Shears manages to fuse rock, funk, techno, jazz and traditional celtic into a seamless blend. It is an upbeat album that can keep you toe-tappping throughout the day.

I am not a huge fan of traditional Celtic music, but find the more traditional tracks such as "Bjork's Chauffeur" very catchy.I was particularly impressed with "Rod's Doorway" that uses an electrified slide guitar for a very unique sound. I am also a big fan of the banjax on "Hijab" and the distinctly russian sounding "Igor's".

Buy this album! You won't regret it.

Super-modernist pop-fusion/techno/world beat Celtic material, but also pretty playful and fun, once you're willing to get on their wavelength. These Scottish fellas play breakdowns and reels with drum machines and synth-sounding sonic washes buoying the fiddle's rasp, and endow their songs titles like "Bjork's Chauffeur" and "The Hijab" (one of several tunes that have a sort of an Arabic tinge...) True traditionalists will loathe such experiments, but for anyone looking for creative approaches to defining a modern, new Celtic sound, this is certainly worth checking out. Similar in approach to Germany's Dissidenten (though perhaps a bit smoother in execution ); imaginative and consistently engaging.

slow to communicate, showed shipping more than a week after purchase. Never received items, and finally received refund well after end of Amazon's expected arrival period.

I just saw these guys live at a club and they were amazing. I originally went because they were billed as a trad./trance band, a cross between the Chieftains and the Chemical Brothers. I didn't hear any Chemical Brothers so much, but I do have to say that they are one of the best Trad/Rock/Funk bands I've ever heard. Great energy, great music, great arrangements. I'm looking forward to getting the CD.