Broom Bezzums - Under The Rug

(2008) 12 tracks: Binnorie * Disco Reels * The Factory Lad * Banks Of The Dee-Harbour Reel * Under The Rug * This Happy Marriage * Collier's March / Brave Dudley Boys * Clipboard Lassies * The Blind Fiddler * Miner's Ghost * Driftwood Guitar * Begging Song.

Mark Bloomer (vocals, guitar) and Andrew Cadie (vocals, Northumbrian pipes) - Broom Bezzums' second album, emerging fifteen months after their debut CD, Arise You Sons Of Freedom.

Retaining the political stance set out in its predecessor, Under The Rug features tracks such as the traditional Black Country song Collier's March, delivered with Mark Bloomer's trademark vocal passion and sturdy guitar, augmented with Andrew Cadie's rousing harmonies and rapid Northumbrian pipes flourishes.

Fiddle-singing features strongly as both singers unfold the ballad of Binnorie on the opening track, over a fiddle and guitar groove which builds up over time with mandola and bowed double bass. This line-up is revisited in Banks Of The Dee, a pitman's lament set to a swaggering accompaniment.

Instrumental sets punctuate the track list, with numbers such as the raucous Disco Reels and the quirky title track. Original songs from Andrew Cadie this time include This Happy Marriage (an ode to Anglo-Scots relations over several centuries), Miner's Ghost (which charts changes in Northumberland through a real life ghost story) and Clipboard Lassies, a 'come all ye' warning about the woes of easy credit.

Honest traditional music loaded with energy, genuine emotion and inevitable humour.