The "live album" is something of a pop-music oddity. Often, it's a useful device by which a band can fulfil their contractual obligations to a record company without doing too much in the way of extra work. But that's not the case for Lau: this is a band who are even better heard live than in the confines of a recording studio, simply because their semi-improvised, freewheeling playing changes with each performance. It was no surprise that they won best group at this year's Radio 2 Folk awards, but they should have won best live act as well, as this set proves. The Scottish-English trio are unique in the folk scene for their self-written jigs, reels and complex instrumental work, and for the way they can repeatedly switch mood and direction within a song. The interplay between Martin Green on accordion, Aidan O'Rourke on fiddle and Kris Drever on guitar and lyrics seems almost intuitive. Recorded in Edinburgh, this is an exhilarating and subtle set that shows why Lau are so special.

Critics praise the nu-folk trio Lau’s fearless improvisations for fiddle, guitar and accordion, captured here live at Edinburgh’s indestructible Bongo Club. Yet, though the jigs and reels on their second album are original, not selections from revered sources, the playing seems a little ponderous, as if Lau are constrained by the desire to display their technical brilliance and skilful arrangements. The Lang Set’s 15-minute medley holds fast, Hinba builds to a pitch that ignites the Bongo crowd and The Unquiet Grave deploys Kris Drever’s soulful Scots brogue, but Lau have a restless genie bottled somewhere, waiting to be released.