'Skinner and Twitch were a fairly unknown quantity to us before tonight. I had heard good things about them, which is why I invited them to play, but I was unprepared for just how good they really are!

They play their own songs almost exclusively. Indeed, there was only one cover during their whole performance. It was a song by Bert Jansch and covered by Led Zeppelin, "Blackwaterside". Steve is a big Bert Jansch fan and he has written several songs in the style of Bert... and I think Bert would approve!

Their whole style and delivery is very individual. Sandra doesn't play any instruments but she sings beautifully and dances her way delightfully through all the songs. Her voice complements Steve’s perfectly, very smooth to his slightly more raucous delivery. Their basic style is folky, bluesy, jazzy and just a hint of pop.

Steve’s background is in comic songwriting but he has expanded his repertoire considerably. The comic element is still there but it sits well with some more weighty themes. Amongst the themes tackled were modern relationships in a song called "You’re Always Right". This was very cleverly done by both singing over each other, different words and tunes coming together in the last line of the chorus. This may have been sung tongue in cheek but it certainly got the message over very clearly.

Another song, "Snow White" was an update on some fairytale characters’ lives in the modern world. The first line tells us that Snow White has been mugged in New York and two of the dwarves are hooked on heroin! We were warned beforehand that we might want to laugh or cry... I laughed! It was funny but it did have a serious side to it as well. Very Clever.

A lot of the songs they sang were having their first airing in front of an audience as they are about to release a new album on the 1st of April. We were very fortunate to be the first to hear these songs live.

Steve’s songwriting encompasses topics as varied as a song inspired by a Shakespeare sonnet, "Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day", a sea shanty about Horatio Nelson, a flamenco style song about the survivors of the Spanish Armada and a song about a refugee travelling from Tripoli to Calais, which also included some Arabic musical themes.

Skinner and Twitch provided us with an evening full of delights with a mixture of songs which can make you laugh, cry and think... sometimes all within the same song.

They will be welcome back to Leith any time and if you get the chance to see them anywhere, please do yourself a favour, grab it with both hands.' Marianne Doig, Leith Folk Club