Latest releases reviewed

AIDAN O'ROURKE
Sirius
Vertical Records
***
Grand sweeping landscapes are just the thing to shed light on the dark days of January. Aidan O'Rourke is a Scottish fiddler whose vernacular stretches well beyond the confines of his home place. Sirius is an overdue recording of a series of compositions commissioned by Celtic Connections in 2003, yet it's as if the tunes have been gently aged in oak before finally seeing the light of day three years on. From high-octane opener Falun Fine to the reflective spaciousness of The Santa Cruz Redwoods, O'Rourke skims a surface that skirts traditional and jazz tones with the nonchalant confidence of Alison Brown. Few musicians manage to speak many musical dialects fluently, but O'Rourke already sounds like a polyglot with many more stories to tell. www.verticalrecords.co.uk. - Siobhán Long

CLUB AN CHLIABHÁIN
The West Papua Action Campaign
No label
***
If freedom were determined simply by eclecticism and passion, then The West Papua Action Campaign would be raising the flag of independence of this former Dutch colony high over the Pacific. Fundraising collections are often, by their nature, haphazard, and Dublin's Club An Chliabháin's collection suffers some of the indignities of the low budget. But there are enough gemstones lurking within the melee to warrant repeated listenings. Colm Ó Snodaigh's An Ghaelach Ar Mo Thoir is a gorgeous, skeletal snapshot of a voice that glories in immersing itself in the belly of its story. Eamonn de Barra, Mick Broderick and Neil Lyons lend much-needed structure, too, with a set bookended by The Peeler's Jacket and The Callan Lassies. A laudable if patchy gathering. www.westpapuaaction.buz.org.
- Siobhán Long