Síobhan Longreviews two new releases
HELEN HAYES Today, Tomorrow & on Sunday No label ***
Spare and spacious, Helen Hayes's debut collection captures a singer neither in thrall nor in hock to the songs of her native east Clare. Hayes is lucky to have as accompanists her brother, the genius fiddler Martin, and his longtime collaborator, Denis Cahill on guitar. She resists the temptation to luxuriate in their assuring embrace, instead opting for uncluttered arrangements and generous solo performances, and dipping into disparate songbooks scattered from Fermanagh (Edward on Lough Erne's Shore) to the Scottish highlands (Robbie Burns's classic Ae Fond Kiss). Hayes's solid, grounded voice is stalwart in its reading of her own personal favourite, Kilnamartyra Exile, but its range struggles to do full justice to Ae Fond Kiss and the gargantuan Dónal Óg. A tentative, hesitant debut. www.helenhayes.ie
Download tracks:The Night Visiting Son, A Stór Mo Chroí
OISÍN & CONAL HERNON Ó Ghlúin Go Glúin Cló Iar Chonnachta ***
The difficulty with recordings from very young musicians is that they often spotlight the artists' tutelage rather than their own musical voices. Aran Islander siblings Oisín and Conal Heron have amassed their share of laurels, despite their tender years (16 and 13, respectively). This collection may prove a canny calling card, but it's a body of work that suffers under the weight of an imbalance between their technical prowess and their inevitable lack of experience. Too many of the tune sets meld into one another for want of more inventive arrangements. Conal's own composition, The Renmore Jig, certainly hints at a musician hungry for exploration, but ultimately there's a prematurity about this release that grates on repeated listenings. The inclusion of a cover of Timbaland's The Way I Are does little to foster a return visit either. www.cic.ie
