This week's traditional music releases reviewed

REELAN Claddagh Records ***

The Crooked Picture

Donegal's River Reelan gives this newly minted five-piece their name. All 12 tracks are composed by fiddle player Sandie Purcell, whose tunes have a spring in their step and whose playing is boldly earthy. The pair of reels ( The Girls of Rathminesand The Doll's House) epitomise Reelan's sound in their sinuous arrangements, and the agile shadowboxing fiddles of Purcell and Aoife Mullen. Purcell and Mullen delve even deeper on Sandie's Dream, their two-hander slow air, although they sacrifice the lonesome touch by wedding the air to a pair of reels that dissipates the mood prematurely. Sharon O'Leary's concertina adds many riches as well, and brings a clarity to the arrangements, particularly on the slip jigs set Mother Says. At times, Reelan's discipline might muzzle their spirit, but this is still a formidable calling card for any debutant. www.claddaghrecords. com

Download tracks: The Crooked Picture, Johnny of the Grove

LIZ CARROLL & JOHN DOYLEDouble Play Compass Records ****

Chicago fiddle player Liz Carroll continues to stretch herself in her playing and compositions, a wealth of which pepper this sizzling collection. John Doyle has grown alongside Carroll as well, his guitar accompaniment provocative and modest by turn, always searching for just the right mood to underscore Carroll's inquisitive tunes. The slow air, Nearby, Long Ago, is a divine embodiment of Carroll's genius: meditative but never brooding, lightly stepping through the ether, glorying in the oxygen of the tradition that gave it life. Although there are some finely arranged songs, and Doyle's voice is dutifully competent, they tend to distract from the indelible riches of Carroll's tunes, as well as from Doyle's original pieces, including the intricate Before the Storm. www.compassrecords. com

Download tracks: Lament for Tommy Makem, Rushin' Dressin'