On hearing this CD for the first time it is immediately apparent that Philip Duffy is completely at one with the music. His fiddle playing has depth, clarity, feeling and it really flows with a subtle intensity that only comes from 'living the music'. Most on the music on Killin' Clocks is Irish traditional with a few self composed items and a couple of songs. It is a measure of any musician's confidence, not arrogance, when they feel they can place their own work alongside gems from the tradition without fear or discomfort. Philip has nothing to fear, his fine compositions sit easily with the traditional items in this programme. I am not so sure about the two songs however, Bob Dylan's Make You Feel My Love and One Last Cold Kiss by Gail Collins and Felix Pappalardi are included for the sake of variety. The instrumental tracks are varied enough to make this unnecessary and in my opinion they interrupt rather that add to the overall smoothness.

Philip is joined here by Kevin Brehony on Piano and Keyboards, Declan Courell on Guitar and Vocals and Hugh Sullivan on Bodnran. Their arrangements work well and the music is full without being fussy driven along nicely by Philips fiddle. This is a well produced, well played album with good notes. The notes by the way say that Philip's style of playing shows the influence of the great Sligo masters, this is true but not to the extent that he fails to make the music his own. Overall a very nice album.