Coinneach are living proof that good things come to those who wait. This is their third album in seven years, which may not exactly be prolific but it hides the true nature of the band. Alongside Wolfstone, Runrig and their peers, Coinneach are one of the hardest working Scottish bands of the last ten years. They also have the hardest-hitting sound, often with more in common with the Levellers and the Waterboys. However if the protest song is one of the key elements of folk music then Davy Cowan is surely a major exponent.

Since their last album the group have undergone a few line-up changes. Most notable is the inclusion of Rachael Parker, her strident fiddle technique, and harmonic vocals give the group a much-needed edge. In fact this line-up seems to give Coinneach all the musical dimensions they've been searching for. One thing that remains untouched is Davy's 'angry young man' lyrics, even the very title of the album questions our security on this planet. Throughout there's a nagging feeling that on many key issues he might just be right. That's not to say that "Protected?" lacks subtlety - the album closes with the touching lament "3AM", leading into a pile-driving set of jigs under the collective title"Dancehall Paranoia".

With "Protected?" Coinneach have finally come of age. Many festival dates are planned this summer so they could easily become an overnight success seven years late.

Keith Whitham (Living Tradition Homepage)

Right now it's hard to move in Scotland for bands rediscovering their roots, everybody seems to be hauling fiddles, pipes and accordions up on stage to prove their heritage, inevitably the quality is variable and only the fittest survive.

Coinneach, however, are made of the proper stuff, they have in Davy Cowan a first class writer, a muscled rhythm section that keep a tight groove, and Rachael Parker whose strings provide light and shade on both the folksy takes, Closer Now, and the gutsy slices, Back street Lovers. There's never a point where you feel they've gone over the top or undersold themselves, the balance is just right throughout, evidenced by Man Overboard, where pride in their homeground is expressed as a measure of freedom. Production by Nick Turner is clean, with a regard for sound that is honed by intuition and hundreds of gigs.

I take it Pictish Pop - great name - is their own label, more on www.coinneach.co.uk.
Simon Jones (fRoots)

COINNEACH UP WITH THE GOODS

This band's music is described as Pictish Pop and Celtic Rock - words that should never appear together, anywhere.

So it was with a huge sigh of relief I found they weren't some second-rate Runrig rip-off. Instead, Coinneach proceeded to play music that wasn't so easy to pigeonhole.

Was that a hint of bluegrass coming through there? Heck, that one sounds like it's straight from the soundtrack to the movie Shaft. And, these guys know how to rock. They are heavier than some "real" rock bands and they're cooler than an Eskimo's butt cheeks.

All in all, a funkified, rock-tastic, furious fiddle-playing gig.
MARTAIN RUSSELL: (Sunday Mail)

BRIGHT IS THE FUTURE
Highland News March 2002

It's called love - to coin a Coinneach song. For when a theatreful of people got to their feet to applaud a blistering performance from the band, it was nothing less.

And it must have been a dream come true at Eden Court on Monday for frontman Davy Cowan - who had revealed before the gig that his dearest wish was to inspire the crowd enough to get them up dancing.

It was a deserved tribute for a value for money show on full meltdown level from the word go, when Ullapool bluesmen Mojo Walk fronted by the hyperactive Alwyn Rae set out a clutch of classic numbers all the way from
sonny Boy Williamson to Dr Feelgood - though we never got an answer about ace harpman Hugh Sinclair's yellow wellies.

Coinneach took the stage, three years on from the last line-up's triumphant debut gig in the venue.

New fiddler Rachael Parker makes a joint focus in the frontline with Davy, a smiling swaying foil to his manic one-legged dancing and whirling dervish antics.

Rachael I suspect, is also responsible for a change of tone in the band, with the Celtic element fading to be replaced by something more resolutely rocky and verging at times - with a little help from bassist Fraser
Donaldson - on the jazzy. it's called progression, and there's nothing wrong with that.

But Coinneach don't forget their past and, for the fans, dusted down many of the classics and gave them a new twist - Life in a Scottish greenhouse, for example.

The jaunty sounding opener is titled Black is the colour, But bright is the future for this band.

The blueprint for Scottish Folk-Rock bands is often the big hearted impassioned sound as written by Runrig or the mystical rootsy slant of the late 80's Waterboys. The band Coinneach combine a flair for melodic pop
tinged folk and semi traditional tunes without resorting to the big message or playing the ragged minstrel card one more time. One of their aces is Debbie Swanson's whose superb fiddling and excellent self written tunes make for compelling listening, another ace is Davy Cowan's songs and vocals the former playing the familiar folk-rockers styles and the later emitting a pleasant lack of false passion. "Town that I love in the rain" bops along with a classy melody and "Black is the colour" is contagious pop rock of the first degree with shades of Prefab Sprout. Coinneach are getting their act together and creating a delightful spin on the folk-rock card and "Ice trees and Lullabies" is a giant leap forward in their World domination plan.
John 'O' Regan (Rock 'n' Reel)

"Beefily melodic songs, a punchy melange of Celtic, Country, Blues and Rock shadings, with hoarse edged conviction. they certainly know how to show a crowd a good time."
Sue Wilson (Sunday Herald)

"..Coinneach's brand of Celtic Rock has a contemporary edge and a refreshingly urban outlook. Lead singer and guitarist Davy Cowan's songs have strong melodies and rhythms and meaningful lyrics."
Hector Mackenzie (Inverness Courier)

"...the music has a strangely compelling energy and a rugged and refreshing air of optimism."
(Scots Magazine)

"...If only the UK had any music stations that played music outside the narrow dictates of chart material or fashion Coinneach would quickly find a wider audience."
Chris Woods (Folk Tales)

"...The Clash with a fiddle."
(Press & Journal)