The Fruit Tree Foundation presents Music Like A Vitamin @ HMV Picture House, 1 Oct

Idlewild’s Rod Jones and former Delgado Emma Pollock have been ploughing the admirable Music Like A Vitamin furrow for a few years now, gathering together a collective of noted performers from Scotland and elsewhere to perform as part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival.

Tonight, there’s a special twist to the tale, as the artists in question have collaborated to create an album of entirely new compositions, on sale at the venue as The Fruit Tree Foundation: First Edition, and performed live for the first time. The album is an eclectic mix of styles, with the set swinging from the alt-country of Dead Leaves and a Swollen Leg, to Alasdair Roberts' darkly humorous Scottish ballad Beware Beware. Taking turns to mix and match on stage, with any occasional mishap which occurs in the process being described by Scott Hutchison as ‘charming’; and he is of course correct.

A little bit surprisingly, the album has spawned some impressive chunks of what can only be described as ‘power pop’ and in the live setting it is these (I Forgot To Fall, Forgotten Anniversary and the ensemble closer Favourite Son with Broken Records' Jamie Sutherland guesting on vocals) that fully ignite an already unforgettable show. [Paul Mitchell]