Jaywalkers
Album: Early For A Thursday
Label: 101 Records
Tracks: 12
Website: http://www.jaywalkers.co.uk

Going by the name alone, you could easily be forgiven for thinking Jaywalkers were either a contemporary Americana outfit or an ill-timed relaunch of Peter Jay's early-60s rock'n'roll combo. But no, Jaywalkers are a lively and enthusiastic young outfit playing a captivating mix of equal parts folk and bluegrass. Only 18 months ago, I reviewed Jaywalkers' earlier CD 16 Miles, which showcased the outstanding talents of the duo of that name that achieved finalist status in 2009's BBC Young Folk Awards: Jay Bradberry (fiddle, guitar, lead vocals) and Michael Giverin (mandolin, bouzouki, guitar, harmony vocals); since that time, the original duo has expanded to a trio with the addition of vibrant slap-bass merchant (and extra harmony vocalist) Lucy Williams.

16 Miles was an exceedingly promising debut by any standards, consisting of a healthy (albeit slightly safe) mix of original songs and tunes with informed and respectful covers of well-established genre staples. Early On A Thursday now bravely tips the scales even more in favour of Michael's original writing, with the only covers this time round being the A.P. Carter opus Jealous (here fetchingly done in the bluesy style of Mollie O'Brien's recording), and two snappy, swingin' hot-club-meets-gypsy-bluegrass instrumental cuts: Não Me Toques, and, closing the disc stylishly, the showpiece Dark Eyes (which features some stunning mandolin work).

As well as penning two imaginative all-instrumental tracks that provide further disc highlights (the episodic title track and FATG), Michael demonstrates exemplary mastery of the bluegrass idiom while placing it at the service of intelligent lyrics which - perhaps unexpectedly - often emanate from (for bluegrass, certainly) rather less expected sources like Lancashire legends (Drag You Down tells the tale of a meeting between the devil and a drunkard) and poems (Goodnight Old Friend imparts a distinctly Carter-esque flavour to a simple farewell between friends).

Our Sarah (also based on a Lancashire poem) and I Think That It's Time then show opposite sides of a lovers' dilemma, and Cool My Body Down takes the trio into gospel territory. Jay's singing, though it's always been confident, has now developed through all the hard graft of the past couple of years into a knowing and tough beast the equal of many several years her senior. Jay's a very persuasive fiddle player too, while Michael's instrumental skills in particular are just amazing, with proficiency and musicality hand in hand to a degree one doesn't often find in one so young. And Jaywalkers' accomplished three-part vocal harmonies are just the icing on the cake. In the short interim period between their two CDs, Jaywalkers have turned from an impressive and highly promising duo into a really exciting trio worth travelling the extra mileage to catch.

David Kidman