Latest releases reviewed

FLOOK
Haven
Flatfish Records
***

Ten years on the road. Haven is Flook's third album, and this languid rate of production must go some way towards explaining their rude state of musical health. The album lives up to its name. There's a reflective spirit driving it, inviting the listener not just to cock an ear but to linger in its hospitable furls. Sarah Allen and Brian Finnegan's flutes still define the band's identity, but Ed Boyd's guitar lures the tunes (all of them contemporary, eight of them composed by Allen and/or Finnegan) into wider, open plains where the light penetrates their core. John Joe Kelly's bodhrán and mandolin up the rhythmic ante, and a generous guest list includes bassist Ewan Vernal and percussionist Seckou Keita. Fluid and shamelessly impish, Haven is just that: a sheltering sanctuary. www.flook.co.uk  - Siobhán Long