CD Review

Flook!
Flatfish
Flatfish Records, 1999

A great surprise. I'd been looking forward to this one ever since reading about the group in Paul Castle's "Across the Pond" column. The name seemed to evoke a zany energy. This first studio CD is anything but. Once you've heard them, Flook! evokes flute. With two of the four members of the band playing flute, it's clearly the featured instrument on these totally instrumental tracks. The name might also hint at the unusual spin this gives to their brand of Celtic music. There are many traditional tunes here but the fine original compositions add elements of jazz and worldbeat - and this also helps the group avoid a strictly traditional feel. Flatfish lists nine tracks, but most of them are long medleys, with traditional and original compositions grouped distinctly. Still, the effect is to blend the two seamlessly, bringing out the modern quality of some of the old tunes, and grafting a new branch onto the Celtic root. Instead of zaniness, the performances have a classical precision and delicacy that sometimes get lost in the current neo-Celtic movement which has broken so much new ground.