Bellowhead's first album was,in automotive terms, a Porsche 911: a turbocharged beast that always threatened to break free of control. Matachin, for all its swagger is more of an Aston Martin. The power has been contained, waiting to be cut loose with a blip of the throttle - 'Kafoozalum/The Priest's Miss', for example.

There are ten tracks and three vignettes - preludes or codas to 'Fakenham Fair', 'Roll Her Down The Bay' and 'Whiskey Is The life Of A Man' - very much in keeping with the orchestral arrangements. 'I Drew My Ship Across The Harbour' is superb with Jon Boden at his vocal best, and he tells a darkly sinister story in 'Widow's Curse' with relish. I have my doubts about the Kipling/Bellamy 'Cholera Camp' - a song of which I am inordinately fond. Bellowhead chop a verse and get a bit Bonzo Dog-ish, emphasising the comedy in the lines, but after the third hearing I was beginning to get it.

We're promised another lavish package when the album is released though it would be an essential purchase if it were wrapped in old newspaper. It loses a star for mucking about with Kipling, though - harsh but fair.

Dai Jeffries