The light-hearted name of the band led me to expect a raucous album filled with songs about alcohol. I was way off -- the Whistlebinkies are a septet of traditional musicians who play their native Scottish music with classical precision.

While perhaps suited more for the recital hall than a pub jam, the music recorded for the band's second album, Timber Timbre, is delightfully well executed.

The band comprises Peter Anderson, Scottish side-drum, bodhran and percussion; Annaliese Dagg, viola and fiddle; Stuart Eydmann, fiddle and concertinas; Mark Hayward, fiddle; Eddie McGuire, flute, piccolo and clarsach; Judith Peacock, clarsach and vocals; and Rab Wallace, Lowland pipes and Scottish smallpipes. Against all odds they've blended that musical array into a seamless unit, even pairing up the pipes and harp for duets which come off without a hitch in tunes such as "Nuair a bha mi og" and "John Roy Stewart."

Singer Judith Peacock carries her vocal duties with a strong, clear voice and lovely tones. She signs in Gaelic on "Fear a Dun Mhoir" in "The Sailor's Wife" set, "Eilean Scalpaigh na Hearadh" and the communal "Tha mulad, tha mulad," a waulking song typical of those sung by tweed workers in the southern islands of the Outer Hebrides. James MacMillan joins the band for one track, singing "The Tryst" in a Scots dialect.

There are certainly livelier bands on the market today, but few can compare with the Whistlebinkies for sheer musical excellence. If you'd like to hear the tunes as they were written, without the bells and whistles of modern electronics and sound boards, pick up a copy of Timber Timbre and listen well.