Supergroups rarely have more than one good album in them (and in some cases not even that many), but happily the indie collective The Reindeer Section have proved the exception to the rule. Dreamed up in a drunken moment by Gary Lightbody, frontman of Northern Irish luminaries Snow Patrol, this motley crew is made up of 27 members from the premier league of Scottish bands (Belle and Sebastian, Arab Strap, Mogwai, Idlewild etc). Given that so many individuals are on board, the music they produce is amazingly cohesive - a gently downbeat brand of melodic indie-folk which wears its heart on its sleeve without ever giving way to mawkishness. Perhaps the lack of pressure involved with side projects has had a beneficial effect, since stars such as Aidan Moffatt, Norman Blake and Roddy Woomble all make first-rate contributions here which are easily the equal of anything they've achieved with their own bands recently. Not just a novelty, then, but a fine album in its own right and something of a triumph for the indie ethic it so proudly represents. Dare we hope for even more?
