TRADITIONAL

The latest releases reviewed

The latest releases reviewed

BREDA KEVILLE
The Hop Down
No label
***

There's a bareness to this debut that's two parts raw bar to one part naivete. Breda Keville's fiddle style traces a lonesome path through a rake of tunes borrowed from Paddy Fahey and many others. At times the fiddle's croakiness grates, particularly on solo set Seán Ó Duibhir a' Ghleanna/ Poll Ha'penny. But Keville's synchrony when accompanied by her sister Claire on The New Road is stuff that could only have been born of a mix of sibling rivalry and sorority. Keville's singing voice is characteristically earthy, as befits her east Galway roots. The sense of cross-generational pollination is palpable on the tunes mined from the rich repertoires of Sarah and Rita Keane, particularly on the title track fiddle solo. A debut full of promise.

Siobhán Long