The first release by Shenanigans, ... Forest Through The Trees has some excellent fiddling and crunchy acoustic rhythm guitar. The vocals are high and clear, with some sweet harmonizing. The singing sounds unusually chipper, though, for songs dealing with wartime injuries, arson and nautical tragedy. The protagonist of "MacPherson Rant" sounds almost joyful to be facing the noose, and "Follow Me Up To Carlow" has none of the vitriolic gloating inherent in the text.

Shenanigans has a tendency to use a faster tempo than fits the songs, and some of their material could benefit from just slowing down a little. One exception is the children's song "Coulter's Candy". Their light and lively approach is ideally suited to this one. The instrumental tracks are very good. While there aren't many purely instrumental tracks, several of the songs are paired with dance tunes, showcasing Richelle Basgall's smooth fiddling.

You can't go wrong with Mortal Daze, from Shenanigan (singular -- not to be confused with the group reviewed above). The melody instruments -- a combination of fiddle, flute and whatever Graham Johnson chooses to play -- are smoothly energetic, pushed along by guitar, bass and percussion. I especially like Ruth Boggild's flute playing, and Revellie Nixon's tasteful bodhran solos. Clare Brett is a heart-breaking singer, and a good songwriter, as well. As for the band's weak points, well, I don't think I noticed any. This is a group to watch.

With six members, The Miserable Few seems to be a misnomer. I can't comment about the miserable part; they sound fine here. The material is standard pub fare, mostly rowdy, bang-on-the-table stuff. No new ground is broken, but the music is played well, and heartily sung. I'll bet this band is even better when heard live.

What tremendous good fortune that The Easy Club's debut album has been released on CD! The Easy Club referred to their sound as Scottish Rhythm & Swing when this was first released in 1984. The concept struck me as bizarre, but once I heard it, I was hooked: the tunes fairly strut. John Martin's fiddle lines glide over sock-style rhythm guitars (chords are played crisply, sort of bitten off, with frequent changes) played by Jack Evans and Rod Paterson, with Jim Sutherland's cittern filling in the gaps. Paterson's smoky vocals fit these arrangements beautifully, especially on the original "Auld Toon Shuffle". This is one very cool disc.

Joanie Madden is a fantastic whistle player. In her hands, the whistle can be expressive as any voice. It's a shame that on Song Of The Irish Whistle, she often has to compete with unnecessary synthesizers and string sections. The best cuts are of Madden solo, or paired with Jerry O'Sullivan's uilleann pipes. I'm not exactly sure what an air whistle might be, but its breezy sound adds an interesting lift to the medley of "The Otter's Nest/Richie Dwyer's". Most of the cuts could have stood more lift; most are slow and drowsy, and Brian Keane's dense arrangements intensify that feeling. A few more fast tunes would have been nice, as would some of Madden's flute playing, which is conspicuous by its absence. Every track does feature Madden's whistle, however, and that is worth hearing despite the album's shortcomings.

Ballad fans will like The Clergy's Lamentation. Donal Maguire has a powerful voice and sings in a traditional style. To most modern ears, his voice will probably sound nasal and droney, but so do many of his predecessors in the tradition. If you threw in some scratches and hisses, this might pass for an archival recording; that's how traditional Maguire sounds. The songs on the CD are less than common, and well chosen for Maguire's voice. I'll admit that a couple of them are longer that I cared for. Maguire also plays some good mandolin and tenor banjo on the instrumental tracks, but his singing is the heart of this album.

Celtic Twilight is an example of what happens when a particular style of music becomes Flavor Of The Month. Never mind the use of the word "Celtic" in the title, this disc mostly features New Age performers who hopped on the bandwagon. There are a couple of exceptions, namely Alasdair Fraser and Joanie Madden, but even their selections contain superfluous electronics. I did find myself unexpectedly liking a few of the tracks: those by Fraser, Madden, Loreena McKennit, a flute tune by Radhika Miller and a guitar piece by John Doan that reminded me of John Renbourn. Still, for most of the music on this CD, it's a very big stretch to call it Celtic.

[Tim Hoke]