Lasairfhíona - One Penny Portion album review: Enriched by wistful vulnerability

A decade has passed since Lasairfhíona's last album, Flame of Wine. In the interim, the Inis Oírr singer's voice has only grown in reach. Where her singing was always distinguished by a clean, uncluttered style, the intervening years have imbued it with a wistful vulnerability that enriches it even further.

Lasairfhíona's songbook has expanded as well, and she's got both the gravitas and restraint to tackle two big songs, Éamonn an Chnoic and An Chuilfhionn/The Coolin, and make them her own. Arrangements are beautifully subtle, underpinned by coproducer Máire Breatnach's fiddle, Jimmy Higgins' drums and the harp of Gráinne Hambley, among others.

Lasairfhíona's newfound confidence as a lyricist sees her embellishing Reilly, the Fisherman so that it tells a rounded tale of love and loss with a bittersweet contemporary resonances. A lustrous return to the fray.

[ aransinger.com ]