There are few musical outfits whose music creates such a warm glow as instrumental super-trio Leveret. Accordionist Andy Cutting, concertina player (who also recorded this album), Rob Harbron, and violinist Sam Sweeney are at the top of the pile in each of their departments, and their work as Leveret has been consistently excellent through six albums and eleven years.
For Lost Measures, the band unearthed several old tunes and melodies that had lain dormant for many years and combined them with originals from Andy and Rob to result in eleven pieces of beautiful music showcasing the strengths of these musicians, both as individuals and as one of the best instrumental groups operating.
One of the most rewarding aspects of Leveret’s music has been the ease with which each player converses with the other, and this has never been more prominent than on Lost Measures. On Cutting original Chalendeix, the accordion provides much of the initial melody, a wavering, dreamlike piece with gentle bowed notes from Sam and sympathetic concertina slowly building as the tune develops, until the three instruments entwine at around the halfway point. The ease with which the band interacts is something special; imagine the musical alchemy of Lau’s Horizontigo, just toned down several notches.
Just as restrained and equally powerful is Dutch Skipper, a haunting piece from the eighteenth century, played on the accordion at the front and rich strings from Sam’s viola, accentuating a beautifully simple tune. This takes us into Captain Driver’s Delight – There and Back Again, the first half being a late nineteenth-century English dance, the latter a Harbron tune built for the pleasant mundanity of summer festival gigs. The music here is far tighter in melody, as you would expect from a dance, with each player locked into the tune and providing fine nuances and brief flourishes.
Evening Hymn is up there with Dutch Skipper for pure melancholy beauty and demonstrates the power of impeccably performed music. A tune collected by the poet John Clare (a remarkable man who Chris Wood writes about on his Trespasser album), this is performed with such restraint and consideration; each musician sounds assured enough to know the melody needs no overcooking. Spellbinding.
Lost Measures is instrumental music performed at the highest level, and it takes us through many moods and emotions. Take the last two tracks: Once a Night – Buckland Down is a joyous jig that contains the essence of a tune and invites the listener to dance and forget, whereas Ianthe – Aphelion slows things down and provides drama through a low melody and violin drone strings. Sam’s viola takes hold of the piece after a minute or so, with the viola’s lower register bringing added weight to the music as the two squeeze boxes slowly join. Rob’s original tune ending the set sees the accordion take the melody, allowing the other instruments to let loose and embellish.
What an album Lost Measures is. The concept is as simple as folk music gets: a band discovers some old discarded melodies and breathes new life into them, but when the ability and musical intelligence of the players is as high as these three, there is no need for any further context. It is exhilarating, mesmerising stuff —absolutely top-drawer music.
Lost Measures (September 26th, 2025) Self Released
Bandcamp: https://leveretband.bandcamp.com/album/lost-measures