CeisCladdagh Records ***

Harpist Laoise Kelly lets her instrument do some serious talking on this long overdue second solo recording. Taking as her title, Ceis, meaning the harmonised tones or tune of the instrument, Kelly brings a clear-headed, uncompromising approach to her calling card, jettisoning any notions of the harp as an effete instrument.

Of course, there's fragility to be found lurking in the deep corners of the unlikeliest tune titles such as With Her Dog and Her Gun, but listen to how Kelly appropriates the Tommy Peoples's reel ( Joe Cassidy's) and the Natalie McMaster reel ( Frank Gilruth), and you'll hear a musician unwilling to be fettered to conventional notions of how to meld a tune to its instrument. An elusive lightness of spirit pervades Ceistoo, hinting that Kelly is still utterly and completely in thrall to the music. See laoisekelly.ie