VARIOUS ARTISTS "Evolving Tradition 3" Mrs Casey Records MCRCD 1002
If the previous two albums in the series are anything to go by, this should be a pretty good predictor of the future stars of traditional music. Names such as Kate Rusby, Luke Daniels, Eliza Carthy, Simon Thoumire, Catriona MacDonald and Michael McGoldrick were featured on Evolving Tradition CDs 1 and 2, not to mention the Wrigleys, the Hendersons, Tabache, and Cordelia's Dad.
Many of the artists on Evolving Tradition 3 have already made quite a name for themselves - the likes of Cara Dillon, Chris Armstrong and Malinky are well known in certain corners of the folk music world. There are several names here that were relatively new to me, though: Kieron Means, Ola, Philippe Barnes, Talei Edwards and Emma Reid among them. The styles range from purist to pop, from bluegrass to barndance, with well over an hour of music and song. I'll tell you what my favourites were: not the big names, in many cases, perhaps because I'd heard them before. Roughly two thirds of the eighteen tracks here have been previously released, and the rest will probably make it onto another album pretty soon.
Harpist Phamie Gow's was the first track that leapt out at me. Her lovely lively jiggy composition Heelstergowdie is a wee gem expertly played, and was enough to persuade me to buy her solo CD. The set of reels from NeffBros could be straight from a Dublin session, and a good one at that: the fiddle and pipes combination is full of raw energy, and there's bags of rhythm and musicality too. The fjord-style fiddling of Edwards and Reid is a different beast altogether, dark and earthy but with a power that affects those little hairs on the back of your neck. Ola is a trio of young musicians who play music for fun. They're technically brilliant, imaginative and well rehearsed, but the fun comes across loud and clear. I'd go quite a long way to hear more of them. I probably won't need to go so far to see Acaysha, an established young string band playing mountain music and its variants: very listenable. In a similar vein, the supercharged acoustic swing provided by The Black Cat Theory takes some beating.
Depending on your musical tastes, you may prefer the tracks by Broderick, Clive Carroll, Brolum, Bedlam, Dr Faustus, or the trio of MacDiarmada, Fitzgerald and Rooney whose fine debut CD I reviewed a while back. Whatever your likes and dislikes, you should give Evolving Tradition 3 a whirl.
Alex Monaghan