Yellowknife Evening sounds like exactly what it is -- a small group of friends, all with musical inclinations and talents, getting together for a song-and-jam-session.

Recorded in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, the album features two husband-and-wife teams, Moira Cameron and Steve Goff, and Dawn and Steve Lacey. All four sing and, together, they bring a variety of traditional instruments to the table.

The album begins with a brief "Calling-on Song," to summon listeners, before kicking in with an instrumental set consisting of "The Red-Haired Boy," "The Battle of Aughrim" and "The Great Orange Whale." The set includes a very nice melody line by Moira on recorder and fine guitar-picking by the Steves. There's some nice vocal lilting by the ladies, but the men's echo was just a bit off -- and made me worry a bit about the vocal outings to come. I needn't have worried much.

Steve Goff next sings "Farewell to Tarwathie," a somber whaler's song. "Daddy Fox" is an a cappella quartet, likely written for children but fun nonetheless, particularly since the group's voices meld together particularly well on this track.

"Farewell to Canada," based on Robert Burns' "Parcel of Rogues" but with new words by Moira, features her solo voice over a solemn drum rhythm. Moira doesn't sound happy about Canada's political direction, particularly the northern nation's involvement with the States below; the song of unrest is stirring, certainly an attention-grabber. Then Steve Lacey sings an original song called "Yellowknife Evening," a laidback kind of piece which could probably be used by the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce as an advertisement to draw tourists seeking relaxation. "The Prairie Pagans" features Dawn Lacey singing a joyous ode to spring.

"Catch Round the Table" really shows what these four singers can do, matching all four voices in an incredible a cappella madrigal piece which is over too soon. Fortunately, the next song, the bouncy "The Female Drummer," helps to make up for the too-brief madrigal piece before it.

"She's Like the Swallow" spotlights Moira on bowed psaltry, first as a solo, then as a backdrop to Dawn's lovely recitation of the original poem "Memory." All four voices are rejoined for "The Cutty Wren," a classic question and answer song, performed a cappella but for a subtle accent on Steve Lacey's bodhran. "The World Turned Upside Down," a powerful song about peace and violence, and the traditional "Mingulay Boat Song" wrap up the album, both putting all four voices to good use and bringing a hurdy-gurdy (Moira) into the mix.

Ceilidh Friends has put together 12 tracks of simple, effective arrangements which handily show off their broad array of instrumental skills. Vocally, Moira and Dawn are stronger and I can't help but wish they were used even more. The men unfortunately don't stand up as well when singing solo, although they do very well when joining in on four-part vocal harmonies.

Still, Yellowknife Evening is a good album to get for those evenings when friends get together for music and conversation. The album would also be well suited for children.