Donal Lunny: "Coolfin" (Hummingbird Records)

If a certain sameyness had begun to creep into the Sult band arrangements, the great bouzouki man breathes fresh life back into the offshoot of his Coolfin crew. Though more laboriously produced, this new album is very much in the vein of Lunny's excellent live recording for Gael Linn at the O Riada Retrospective a decade ago: the advanced science of overlapping rhythms and funky, side-stepping off-beats; the sets and tunes all given the slap of drums, bass and percussion, with Graham Henderson's keyboards adding to Lunny's rich, almost Byrne/Eno-style production, with its gurgling, multi-layered rhythms. Within the moveable feast of the band, it's hard to distinguish guests from full members, but they certainly all share the groove, Mairead Nesbitt, Maire Breathnach, Sean Smyth and John McSherry's pipes joining Nollaig Casey's classically-tinged fiddle. The singers and songs are well-chosen, too: Eddi Reader's powerful, vocally enhanced Lowlands Of Holland (this would make a great single); Marta Sebestyen's raw medley of Moldavian songs; or Maighread Ni Dhomhnaill, backed by Triona, on the spooky ditty, False Fly, or breaking your heart with Siuil a Run. The arrangement credits are shared democratically, but Lunny's stamp is everywhere, from the revolving melodic overlays and King Crimson counts of his own compositions, such as Spanish Point, his literally off-beat polkas, even the flaccid jazz-blues of Kickdancer. Always seeking the unexpected, Lunny hits the groove nine times out of 10. Mic Moroney