Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

Currently the bass player in the Tim Crahart Blues Band and formerly a member of numerous bands, Newport's Andy Long has bravely chosen to release a solo instrumental bass album. Wisely adopting a stripped down approach to allow his instrument to take centre stage, Long makes good use of loops and delay effects in "Ymddiheuro Am Yr Oedi" and the delightfully experimental "Dan Yr Ogof". Not afraid to occasionally go for a more conventional approach, numbers such as original composition "Song For Lucy", Francois Couperin's baroque piece "Le Petit Rein" and "Twyn Du" - one of three tracks containing Welsh place names - showcase Long's melodic side as well giving an example of what the bass can sound like when used as a lead instrument. Long's Christian faith is referenced in a pleasant enough but somewhat workmanlike reading of "Morning Has Broken" whilst a brief rendition of Robert Lowry's hymn "Nothing But The Blood" ends this fascinatingly unique release, proceedings of which partly go to Cancer Research UK.

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