Latest CD releases reviewed.

NIALL VALLELY, PAUL MEEHAN AND CAOIMHÍN VALLELY
Buille Circular Records ****

It's seldom that instruments are reinvented by individual musicians. Larry Adler did it with a harmonica; so did Pierre Bensusan with his acoustic fingerstyle guitar. And now Niall Vallely has done it again with the humble concertina, a vastly underrated instrument in the traditional firmament. Vallely has penned some 14 original tunes for this dynamo of an album: full of fire-breathing verve (1st of August/2nd of August), lonesome odes (To Mullacreevie, ingeniously paired with The Dunmore Lasses, one of only two non-Vallely originals), and matrimonial celebrations (Tiarnán and Stephanie's) that burst with vitality. With Paul Meehan on guitar and brother Caoimhín on piano, Buille is as fresh a breath that's blown through traditional (and roots) circles in a long, long time. www.gael-linn.ie Siobhán Long