Nearly a year on from the Woven Cord, Iona's return to London's South Bank also marks the launch of their eagerly awaited new album. Open Skyfollows nearly half a decade after the band's last studio album and is the first album from the now four-piece band with their new lineup.
 
While the opening rendition of "Woven Cord" was excellent, the band's long break from playing live was unfortunately evident in the first half of the set. Various technical problems involving Dave Bainbridge's guitars and Joanne Hogg's vocals also slowed things down. But the mixture of old and new material was nevertheless well received and the band worked hard to give it their all.

Drummer Frank Van Essen's contribution to the new material was clear as soon as they moved into it. "Wave After Wave" opened with Van Essen's plaintive violin leading affairs before moving into more typical territory. With the departure of Mike Haughton, the band have largely left behind the occasional jazz influences which cropped up on older recordings and this has left space for some earthier folk influences as exhibited in parts of this song. At this point, Hogg's vocals were still suffering a little in the mix, so didn't complement the song as well as on the recorded version, but it was still a strong piece.

There was a slight middle-eastern tinge to Dave Bainbridge's guitar on "Open Sky," the title track of the new recording. This was complemented by some careful e-bow work from Troy Donockley to craft an absorbing soundscape. The other new track of the first half, "Friendship's Door" was more ethereal than either of the others, featuring only an African drum on the percussive side. This track wasn't quite so strong as the others, especially coming after the driving stand-out "The Man."
 
The first half closed with a mixture of old and new reels. Troy Donockley had been joking about standing on Stonehenge to pick up some psychic vibes and the "psychic duo" that he and Bainbridge form, while not quite on top form, is indeed astonishing.

Journey Into The Morn's "Today" had been rearranged for the new lineup and was one of a number of tracks to include some programmed drums as Van Essen concentrated on violin. Unfortunately, the band had to stop two minutes into the track as Donockley was playing in the wrong key.
 
A short piece, "Million Stars" is another new track and focused on Van Essen's violin, supported by Bainbridge's sweeping keyboards. It contrasted well with the twenty minute epic "Song of Ascent," which we are told is actually 23 minutes long and divided into three parts on the new album. The length of this piece had the band members reaching for most of the instruments in their arsenal, including some use of guitar synth and a couple of e-bow duets between Dave Bainbridge and Troy Donockley. Coming mid-way through the second half, the band was ready for this piece and it was excellent.

Iona's sound has certainly changed, but perhaps not as much as we'd been led to believe. The general direction seems somewhat more progressive, with occasional touches from cultures beyond the Celtic to which they owe so much. The band's nerves were clear and it is not surprising that after such a long break it took some time to warm up. It was sad that the band wasn't at their best, but this opening concert bodes well for the rest of the tour.

Set List:

1st Half: 1 hour
Woven Cord (on new album)
Treasure
Wave After Wave (new)
Open Sky (new)
Matthew The Man
Friendship's Door (new)
Jigs

2nd Half: 1 hour
Dancing On The Wall
Today
Light The Flame (new)
Million Stars (new)
Song of Ascent (new)
Waiting
Castle Rigg

Encore: 15 minutes
Irish Day
Bi-Se I Mo Shuil