Spiro Lightbox Review  Album. Released 2009.    BBC Review
Beneath the surface lurks something far more intricate than is
immediately obvious.  Chris Jones 2009  Jon Hunt (guitar), Jason
Sparkes (accordion), Alex Vann (mandolin) and Jane Harbour
(violin) confound by subtle means. The first listen to this,
their third album, will probably make you smile a little;
enjoying the rolling, jaunty pastoralism, the faux-jig
Englishness and the feeling that beneath the surface lurks
something far more intricate than is immediately obvious. But
then you peruse the sleeve and note the words, '...recorded live
in the studio with no overdubs'. Blimey.  While all critics and
fans so far have been keen (and correct) to point out the
parallels here between Spiro and systems music specialists such
as Steve Reich or with other contemporary folk(ish) ensembles
like Penguin Cafe Orchestra, there is a USP to Spiro's music.
For one, it is far closer to folk traditions than it almost
dares to admit. The rather arbitrary division o