This week's trad releases reviewed

LUMIERE

Lumiere Sony Music ****

The perils and triumphs of daily life are writ large on this collection from two newly paired west Kerry singers, Éilís Kennedy and Pauline Scanlon. Their name, Lumiere, and major label support hint at their potential to reach well beyond a "traditional music" audience – and they just might do that. Kennedy's unforced harmony lines intertwine intimately with Scanlon's more ethereal timbre, with the ease of singers long and well acquainted. John Reynolds brings a refreshing lightness to the production, infusing the often jaded The West's Awakewith a renewed vigour (aided by Damien Dempsey's perfectly modulated guest vocals) and inviting a new perspective on the distilled simplicity of Fíll, Fíll A Rún Óand Óró Mo Bháidín. Lumiere's reading of Spencer the Rover is spellbinding, too. www.lumieremusic. net

Download tracks: Fair and Tender Ladies, Spencer the Rover