Young Belfast trio Réalta don't so much open the door as kick it down and demand to be heard on this outstanding debut.
With a sound based on the magnificent twin uilleann piping talents of Conor Lamb and Aaron O'Hagan, propelled by Deirdre Galway's inquiring rhythmic-harmonic accompaniments on guitar and bouzouki, Réalta carry on the Bothy Band tradition of taking tunes by the scruff of the neck and firing excitement through them like hot flames.
The Girl Of The House jigs set is particularly exhilarating but what also gives their music a distinctive edge is the way the two pipers dovetail and harmonise on slower-paced items.
With its very personal glissandi, dips and bent notes, the air Sliabh Geal gCua is a tour de force of raw Irish blues, and La Volta provides a stirring renaissance dance partner to a romping, ecstatic Drops Of Brandy.
Galway also contributes three songs, showing much promise in Irish Gaelic and on the charmingly youthful Gathering Mushrooms.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article