Brian Rooney: The Godfather (Racket Records)
Sometimes you have to leave the country to find the past, all sealed up in the memory of emigrants. This North Leitrim-born, London-based fiddler has a homey style that nonetheless seems to wander from Donegal to Connemara, often with a scratchy Northern flavour, with its nimble little deflections, lazy slides from one tune to another, and a melancholy, feerique undercurrent to what are, after all, dance tunes. Brian McGrath provides tightly-bodiced piano backing, with Alec Finn and Frankie Gavin joining in a couple of overgrown little sessions, the fiddle and flute rolls wobbling off each other nicely; while John Carty's earthy banjo lets Rooney skite off into unexpected improvs. Yet, left to its own devices, Rooney's is model, lyrical playing in the old style.
- Mic Moroney
Lunasa: Otherworld (Green Linnet)
These Galway-based modern men have long attracted attention for their sophisticated, rocky arrangements. Apart from the piper-guests here, Mike McGoldrick and John McSherry, the melodic core is the well-worked duets between doctor Sean Smyth's bright fiddle (he's no mean whistler either) and Kevin Crawford's extraordinary flute, adding flittering textures and excitement even to slow airs. But the engine room of the arrangements is the combination of Donogh Hennessy's guitars and Trevor Hutchinson's double bass. Sometimes, the build of a set comes like a body blow, but often the subtlety is dissipated at some point by a very live-sounding repetitive high-diddle break. That said, their collective intelligence is very sweet, smart and muscular, and hopefully this CD should see them annex the Yank market nicely.
- Mic Moroney