Traditional Irish Music on the Button Accordion Claddagh Records***

Native New Yorker Dan Gurney makes a noteworthy debut with the pedantically titled Traditional Irish Music on the Button Accordion. Recorded in a single afternoon and accompanied by meticulous sleeve notes, Gurney's first foray into the studio left a number of memorable deposits. At times his thoughtful and unhurried style brings a certain aloofness to his sound, as if he's observing the tunes at a remove, but distance affords enough space to let the tunes speak for themselves. Gurney excels at marches and set dance tunes, though at times he struggles to get fully beneath the skin of bigger airs such as Sliabh Geal gCua, which would have benefited from a more stately pace. Brian McGrath's piano accompaniment is tethered to a narrow gauge, as if loathe to stretch the tunes to their limits. In fact, the predictable piano lines mark the Achilles' heel of this collection, lending the enterprise a stilted quality that belies the freshness of Gurney's own box style. See dangurney.net

Download track: The Ebb Tide