From Cape Breton's Scottish Gaelic culture comes Làn Dùil, a remarkable sophomore effort from vocalist Mary Jane Lamond. While the CD is wholly comprised of traditionals and some of the material here hearkens back to the 19th century, such as the haunting sailor's lament "Ill U Ill O Illean's O," Lamond weaves each piece into strikingly contextual arrangements, incorporating Indian tablas, bagpipe, fiddle, and steel guitar wash. The result is entirely engaging, contemporary, and surprisingly grounded in historic tradition.
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Lamond is not only a daring arranger, but possesses a voice of great richness, versatility, and soul. "Crodh air a Bhurnich (Cattle on the Hill)" also makes splendid use of spoken word by noted Gaelic poet Jeff MacDonald. Each song is a story, conveyed to those of us whose primary language is English by the powerfully uncompromised expressiveness of Lamond's vocal instrumentation. The heart of the song is not detracted from by lyrical dissection. In the end, this is a fine thing, indeed.
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