Notify: Airneán (Liosbeg Records)
The widening gyre of traditional music fuels Notify’s third, highly sociable collection, propelling the group into uncharted waters whose ebb and flow reveal a raft of fresh possibilities, steered by the ever-vigilant Pádraig Rynne on concertina, composition and arrangement duties. Jazz and contemporary influences abound in what is a testament to the band’s sense of adventure.
Guest vocals from the Connemara siblings Seamus and Caoimhe Uí Fhlatharta and low whistle and pipes from Tyler Duncan of The Ollam ensure that this collection burrows deep, mining for gems in the quietest corners of Notify’s set pieces. Layered brilliance that yields crisp new revelations with each listen.
Altan: Donegal (Compass Records)
Nearing the end of their fourth decade together, Altan are showing no signs of losing their va-va-voom. Donegal is a richly textured beauty, with newly composed tunes and others spit-polished and shining, including a set attributed to the 19th-century composer James Tourish, an ancestor of the band’s piano-accordion player, Martin Tourish. Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh’s tunes sparkle, too, as does her rich fiddle, now paired with that of new arrival Claire Friel. A mighty celebration of the bottomless well of the tradition.
Pat Fleming, Steve Cooney and Timmy O’Connor: Tunes from Toureendarby (Saibhreas Ceoil)
Brimming with joie de vivre and fuelled by the muscular playfulness of Sliabh Luachra’s polkas and slides (with the odd reel and barn dance tossed in for good measure), this collection, named after a townland outside Newmarket, goes a long way towards capturing the essence of a live session in full swing.
O’Connor and Fleming are box players with decades of shared sessions between them, and Cooney is, well, Cooney, landing slingshots of effervescence into the mix. This is where the truly local meets global, the Rushy Glen’s dancing shoes sparking off the antipodean flint that is Cooney, through and through.
Aoife O’Donovan: All My Friends (Yep Roc)
For the strange times we live in, Aoife O’Donovan, the former Crooked Still lead vocalist, honours the legacy of the suffragists who fought for the 19th amendment to the US constitution, to afford voting rights to women.
A refreshing reminder that folk music is of, by and for folks, this collection puts front and centre the importance of staying true to oneself in any path towards self-expression. O’Donovan’s bold concept album flies that flag with vigour, vim and no small tincture of perspective on the fragility of social progress. A bellwether for times that are changing faster than many could have imagined.
Ani DiFranco: Unprecedented Sh!t (Righteous Babe)
Spooky and experimental in tone, this inveterate folkie is characteristically topical and laser-focused: an unapologetic interrogation of what passes for news and for political discourse in her home country. The soundscapes created by producer, BJ Burton (Bon Iver, Low) reference Louisiana blues guitar alongside the urban cacophony of DiFranco’s current home place of New York. A gritty, edgy missive from border country, where Ani’s always been at her best.
