Niamh Ní Charra

Súgach Sámh/Happy OutCladdagh Records ****

Her virtuoso 2007 debut, Ón Dá Thaobh, laid firm foundations, and Killarney fiddler and concertina player Niamh Ní Charra has released a startlingly mature collection in Súgach Sámh/Happy Outthat further sculpts her musical identity with both grace and danger. The lightness of touch evident in opening waltz set, The Strawberry Tree, resurfaces at keen intervals, but in between, every shade of emotion from muted delight ( The Blue Horse) to teasing chant ( Cailleach an Airgid) and belly-deep mournfulness (Jerry Holland's Lonesome Eyes) underscore Ní Charra's breadth of emotional investment in her music. Her own compositions stand shoulder to shoulder with traditional linchpins, with the air, Fonn do Eithne, delving deep into the essence of what friendship can be. Her song choices are spare and wise, as is the accompaniment. A wonderful, unforced further step into the limelight.

See niamhnicharra.com