Latest CD releases reviewed
DANÚ
When All Is Said and Done Shanachie
****
If buxom boxes and powerhouse percussion are what light your fire, then Danú's latest collection will push your amp well past 11. This seven-piece have profited hugely from the addition of Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh to their ranks. A Dingle singer, whistle and flute player, Nic Amhlaoibh brings a certain gravitas to Danú, her earthy vocals parsing Bob Dylan's Farewell Angelina and the traditional Cailín Deas Crúite Na mBó with equal facility. Donnchadh Gough's uileann pipes are revelatory in their maturity: his phrasing perfectly matching the impishness of the set, Pots and Kettles O. Inventive tune pairings are another ace in the hole: Oisín McAuley's Garrison Road sandwiched neatly between a borrowing from Ed Reavy and a Cape Breton tune, each set aching to be savoured in a live setting. www.danu.net Siobhan Long
Paul O'Shaughnessy and Harry Bradley
Born for Sport Claddagh Records
****
This gorgous pairing of fiddle and flute would surely have even the comatose thrashing and flailing in jig time. The immediacy and freshness of the playing suggests a certain 3D presence, a tribute to the cleanliness of the production and the honesty of the playing. Bradley's flute sidles alongside, rather than cuts a swathe across, O'Shaughnessy's fiddle, the latter even sneaking a flute into a pair of slides borrowed from accordionist Paudie O'Connor. O'Shaughnessy's vitality is everywhere on the set of reels kick-started by Julia Delaney's, but it's the mischievousness of the pair of hop jigs borrowed from Michael Coleman that captures their spirit best. Untrammelled by artifice, unfettered by preciousness, this is music for listeners who take their trad well stirred. www.claddaghrecords.com Siobhán Long
