The latest CD releases reviewed

THE LONDON LASSES AND PETE QUINN
Enchanted Lady Lo La Records **

The London Lasses and Pete Quinn are a curious melange of past and present. Bathed in piano and high-octane fiddle, their choice of tunes is certainly catholic, with hornpipes, reels and jigs jostling for space amid a quartet of lesser-known songs. But the arrangements lack finesse, with the result that Dee Havlin's gorgeous flute and whistle lines get swallowed up in the melee. Kathleen O'Sullivan's vocals struggle to meet the decorative and phrasing demands of Cailín Rua, and yet Pete Quinn's piano and Havlin's flute offer a soothing backdrop, with Maureen Linane lending clean accordion lines. Ultimately, the pall of a feis ceoil hangs over this collection, conjuring memories (dark, for some of us) of interminable reels offered as a backdrop to nascent dancers of varying degrees of prowess. www.londonlasses.net

DAVID POWER
Cuaichín Ghleann Neifín Phaeton Records **** 

The south-east might not be a bastion of piping, but David Power's highly disciplined style certainly puts Waterford on the map - even if he's based in New York these days. Against a backdrop of erudite sleeve notes and a deep appreciation of the interplay between language and music, Power dives headlong into a boldly eclectic pool, tackling everything from the "big" tunes (Sliabh Geal gCua, Colonel Frazer) to a lower key but equally complex reel set, The Road to Lisdoonvarna and The Five Mile Chase. There's a lack of preciousness in Power's choice of piping tunes, suggestive of a magnetic force that'll reach beyond the conventional piping community. This is highly literate piping born of a generation whose role model is and was the great Liam Ó Floinn. Music, landscape and personal history intertwine in all the right places. www.claddaghrecords.com

Download tracks: The Donegal Reel, Rodney's Glory