Tis What It Is Cló Iar-Chonnachta****

Bottling the chutzpah of a session is an elusive goal that few musicians achieve in the recording studio. This aptly named CD is a welcome exception. David Munnelly orchestrates what could be called a full frontal assault on a heady mix of tunes, except that would hardly do justice to his salty accordion and melodeon style. He stretches and folds tunes such as The Pride of Rockchapel reel set with a Houdiniesque sleight of hand. Mick Conneely’s fiddle is an able match: throaty and dynamic, it swoops and soars across Munnelly’s accordion in vertiginous arcs.

The pace is checked by the inclusion of Munnelly's own slow air, For Michael: a thing of fragile beauty. Contributions on bouzouki, bodhrán and banjo are suitably animated, and Ryan Molloy's piano wrangles with a welcome muscularity without ever succumbing to the tired cliches that can dog this instrument. Around the house and never mind the dresser. cic.ie