In the early years of this website's existence, before I was married or had children and so many gardens to worry about, I reviewed CDs at an astonishing rate and, consequently, CDs regularly overflowed my mailbox. Then, life took a turn and, in so many ways, became richer and fuller, but reviews were written less frequently and, sad to say, a great number of CDs ended up in boxes with the silent vow that I'd find time someday to catch up. Every now and then, I do....

It's time again to pull a dusty CD out of the archives and write a long-overdue review. Up this week is Storm+Calm by the Scottish-Canadian band Hawp. I'm sorry to say, I can't tell you much about them; the band seems to have disbanded shortly after this recording was made, and consequently their website is a dead-end. They didn't leave much of an online footprint as a band, although traces of them can be found individually.

The band, at the time of this recording, was Andy Webster, who hailed from Lanarkshire, Scotland, before relocating to Nova Scotia, on vocals, guitar, bouzouki and piano; his wife, dancer, singer and pianist Niamh Webster, who was originally from Ontario; flute and bodhran player Jason Pfeiffer, a New Jersey native (now deceased); and fiddler Anne Lederman, who came from Manitoba. Although it was their only recording, Storm+Calm was nominated by the Music Nova Scotia awards for best roots/traditional recording.

Without being exceptional, Storm+Calm is one of those albums that's always an enjoyable listening experience. It's a nice blend of songs and tune sets, most of which are either traditional or self-penned (and you can't always tell them apart, which is a sign of good writing). The band shows plenty of enthusiasm for the music, and their solid musical skills are always on display.

Don't take my comment above -- when I said the album wasn't "exceptional" -- as a criticism. This is the sort of album that, while not destined to become one of my favorites, will certainly be among those I pull from the shelf now and then when I'm in the mood for good music. That description applies to a large portion of my collection, after all ... as I suppose is true for many music collectors.

That said, if Hawp were still active, I would definitely be on the lookout for their next recording. I hope the surviving members of the band are still making good music in some capacity, because musical talent should never go to waste. I wish I'd rediscovered this album sooner.