Latest releases reviewed

CATHIE RYAN The Farthest Wave Shanachie ***

Ryan is an Irish-American singer and former member of Cherish the Ladies; her fourth solo album is a sturdy collection of original and traditional songs, buoyed by John McCusker's pitch-perfect production. Ryan's voice is unburdened with the vocal tics that too often define solo singers, but repeated listenings are needed to unpick the subtleties of her interpretation of such classics as Rough and Ready, beloved of Flatt and Scruggs, and of Emmylou Harris. Ryan's own songwriting holds its own alongside borrowings from John Spillane and Karine Polwart, but at times her judgement falters, erring on the side of achingly heartfelt just once too often. Home Sweet Home is a grating concoction, and her duet with Seán Keane on What Will You Do Love serves neither singer well, their voices neither compatible nor complementary.

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Siobhán Long

MARTIN MCCORMACK Traditional Music from Co Monaghan Claddagh Records ***

Piping debuts are fraught with danger, the complexity of the instrument threatening to render the canniest of musicians powerless. Monaghan piper and whistle player Martin McCormack stealthily avoids such pitfalls with a deliciously light touch, fuelled by a rhythmic sensibility that allows him to inhabit rather than interpret such piping classics as the Groves Hornpipe, as well as Carolan's Madam Maxwell. McCormack's real strength lies in his erudite tune selection and his bold inclusion of a sole song (from vocalist Amelia Murphy). Instead of paying literal lip service to the song tradition, McCormack succeeds in balancing fine tunesmithery with just a tiny tincture of storytelling. Occasionally, his phrasing falters momentarily, but this is a welcome reminder of the musician in evolution.

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Siobhán Long