The latest releases reviewed.

LIAM LAWTON Song of the Celtic Soul EMI **

Unctuous and cliche-ridden, Liam Lawton's Song of the Celtic Soul is one pilgrimage too far. Laden with saccharine, it parades its spirituality like a gold medal, exhorting its listeners to wake up and smell the coffee (or walk into the light), with an unwavering certainty that will alienate as many as it seduces. Fired by the biblical certitude of William Wyler when he directed Ben Hur, Lawton's strings-laden hymnal could be the work of Daniel O'Donnell's unknown twin. When he duets with Joseph McManners, the young English boy soprano, on I Heard an Angel, the platitudes fall hot and heavy, bludgeoning the listener into submission - or flight. Lawton's wide appeal notwithstanding, this is music suspended in an ether that's more anaesthetic than stimulant. www.liamlawton.com SIOBHÁN LONG