Latest releases reviewed

DAR WILLIAMS
My Better Self
Zoe
****

This is a lovely, thoughtful album full of assured songs, singing and playing - in short, the kind of performance we have come to expect of American singer-songwriter Dar Williams. She is unfortunate in that her style is not unique (think Mary-Chapin Carpenter, for one), but she conveys a passion, honesty and intelligence that draws the listener in. With each play, My Better Self sounds warmer, more comforting, more pertinent. Williams is political in a quiet kind of way; her anti-war/Bush song Empire is followed by a folky cover of Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb, though the two best songs are the moody pair of Blue Light of the Flame and Two Sides of the River. My Better Self is not likely to set the world on fire, nor is it designed to do so. Rather, Dar Williams remains true to her honest folky instincts, which is no bad thing. www.roundereurope.com  - Joe Breen

MICHAEL MCGOLDRICK
Wired
Vertical Records
***

Urban anonymity and cinematic soundscapes are the stuff of Michael McGoldrick's second solo album. After the manic brilliance of his 2000 debut, Fused, he's pushed the envelope even further, cross-cutting traditional tunes with jazz and Indian-inflected pieces - with mixed results. With over two thirds of the dozen tracks, original compositions by McGoldrick (mostly in collaboration with Capercaille's Donald Shaw), there are enough depths plumbed and heights scaled to satisfy the most gargantuan appetite for mood shifts. Gaelic Gavotte/Evening Aidan ebbs and flows on clean melody lines, but falters on top of intrusive percussion. Ironically, fusions thrive, particularly when pace is forced to change on the sublime Amhrán an bha/Helvic Head/Happydaze/The Desert Road. A mystery vocalist on Sophie's adds welcome spice. Another shot in the arm for traditional music, courtesy of McGoldrick's inventive free-spiritness. www.verticalrecords.co.uk - Siobhán Long