INNES CAMPBELL & PRESENT COMPANY - Present Company Included

Although this next release is from Australia, it has good Scottish connections.
PRESENT COMPANY are a quartet of musicians who have a lovely blend of bluegrass, folk and alternative music. “Present Company Included” is their second CD release, and came out just in time for their recent Scottish tour, which saw them perform everywhere from Edinburgh to Dunnet Head, and festivals in Guildtown, Beauly and Stornoway.
They were previously called “Innes & Present Company”. Innes, is Innes Campbell, who grew up in Stirling, before emigrating down under where he is a doctor by profession. Innes is a Tamworth guitar champion. He is joined by George Jackson. Tamworth’s Bluegrass Fiddle champion in 2010 & 2011. George also plays banjo .
Markus Karlsen is on acoustic bass , and Michael Patrick is on mandolin & violin, and they all share the vocals.
Their sound features some good songs, most notably the opening “Say Something Nice”, and the really Country sounding “You Belong Here”. I also enjoyed “The Light Of Day”, which is a bit more folk-country sounding, in the same way Lindisfarne blended the genres.
There’s some fun stuff too, like “Aliens”, and “The Dark Of The Matinee”, one of the folkier numbers on the album., and a number of instrumentals from the fast paced “Ride The Wild Turkey” and “Lethargy”, to the relaxing “Lead Me Away”.
A good listen, well worth checking out.
www.present-company.com.au