The album opens with the pure honeyed tones of Scottish singer Dominie Hooper, backed by a swell of strings on “Ca’ the Yowes”, a folk song collected by Burns back in the 1770s. It’s a lovely way to start proceedings, building into a full band arrangement with Ríoghnach Connolly (of Honeyfeet, The Breath and Afro Celt Soundsystem fame) and London based Turkish singer/percussionist Dila Varda joining Hooper on vocal harmonies. The trio’s harmonies provide many of the album’s highpoints.

Connolly takes the lead on their rendition of “Now Westlin Winds” which owes something to Dick Gaughan’s celebrated 1981 version and is none the worse for it. “Charlie is My Darling” is saved from cheesy over familiarity by Dila Varda’s rousing East Med vocals and an unexpected Middle Eastern flavoured arrangement from Varda and Fatih Ebrem, guitarist with her Turkish psych folk band Dila and the Oddbeats. Singer – guitarist (and leader of The Langan Band) John Langan is front and centre on “To Ruin” which features a deliciously dramatic piano solo from BoB producer/founder Alastair Caplin and some deep twangy guitar.

As should be apparent by now, the aim here is not for a slavish note-for-note recreation for its own sake but rather to capture the radicalism and energy of Burns, playing up its contemporary relevance. To this end, singer-songwriter Adam Beatie’s own composition “Stripped to the Bone” is a modern lament for the hardships of refugees that feels totally in keeping with the tone of the album.

This move into original material (there are also a couple of instrumentals composed by fiddle player Mikey Kenney) suggest a way forward for this project. Presumably, at some point, they’re going to run out of Burn’s material to interpret and it would be a shame if such a gifted group of musicians who so clearly enjoy playing together were forced to call it a day when that happens. - Jamie Renton