Idir Claddagh Records****

Five years after their spine-tingling debut, and after their triumphant collaboration with Bob Brozman on Six Days in Down, At First Light have released a thoughtful collection. Piper John McSherry and fiddler Dónal O'Connor form the backbone of their sound, with Francis McIlduff (of the McPeake family), adding subtle bodhrán percussion and pipes. McSherry's piping is a glorious mix of hauteur and melancholy, and his own composition, the high-stepping, devil-may-care The Pipers of Roguerycelebrates the stately grandeur of the pipes magnificently. O'Connor's throaty fiddle lines are similarly assured, his mastery of phrasing soaring on his own composition Ar Thóir na Donn. In fact, the band's marriage of tunes is everywhere inventive, with Cloonagroeand My Mary Anneequal parts grace and danger. The inclusion of two songs from guest vocalist Ciara McCrickard is a distraction, however – At First Light need little embellishment. See atfirstlight.net