If you are looking for good solid folk music, the Poachers won't let you down. Granted, their CD The Poachers may not be that long, with less than a half hour of music, but most of what is there is good.

The Poachers are Penny Boys (lead vocals, percussion), Cathy Bell (vocals, fiddle, accordion) and Andrew Heath (guitar, mandolin). They are also joined by Ceri McCoy (low whistle, keyboards). Together, the music they produce is a thing of beauty, with songs flowing gently from one to another thanks in part to the smoothness of Penny Boys' voice.

This self-titled album includes a nice combination of songs, a mix of traditionals and Poachers' originals, plus a poem set to music.

They start off with one of their own. "Silvery Moon" is a traveler's song, for someone who is leaving home for good. The song evokes a feeling of echoes from one's past ... a feeling not directly stated in the lyrics but there nonetheless.

Then we come to "Scots of the Riverina," a touching poem by Henry Lawson. It tells the story of a son and his relationship with his father. The music catches the mood of the word as the atmosphere changes.

"Lone Shanakyle" is one of the traditional songs, the timeless words of one who longs for home from far away. And while parts of it describe a specific place, for the most part it could be any home. They follow this up with a couple of reels: the quietly elegant "Mist on the Mountain" and the livelier "The Millbrae." "Walk Away," the second of the original songs on the CD, is a goodbye song from a disillusioned lover, one who can no longer be reached by the other person.

The CD ends off on a pair of traditional songs. I don't like the sound of "The Blacksmith" as much as I do the rest of the album, but sometimes it succeeds in pulling me in by the end. The band's musical ability certainly did not let them down. Then "The Water Is Wide" grabs me with the first note. Granted, I love the song to begin with, but they do a lovely job.

The Poachers are good. That is the simplest way to summarize what I have to say about them. They are good, and worth the listen to when you feel like hearing some traditional music.

[ by Paul de Bruijn ]