AMG Review of Wicked Tinkers

Richard Foss
All Music Guide

The elements that set the Wicked Tinkers apart from the rest of the crowd are all here on their debut album -- eclectic musical selections, bagpiping virtuosity, and the echoing thud of Warren Casey's gigantic bass drum. Though that syncopated drumming is the most immediately distinctive feature, Aaron Shaw's excellent original tunes are the real reason to get this CD. His compositions and arrangements are first-class, and executed with the verve and panache the band brings to everything. The medley known as "The Roasty Set" is worthy of special mention as perhaps the only fusion of Afro-Cuban rhythms and bagpiping ever attempted, and a surprisingly successful experiment it is.