Links and Bio's
About Irish Music Forever
Recent Album: Wave Of Rush
CD-NOW
Irish Music Network Article
Recent Album: Epona
The Tannahill Weavers, who started as a band 20 years ago, occupy a unique position among the groups on the Scottish folk scene. Stalwarts Roy Gullane and Phil Smillie have surrounded themselves wuith a rotating cast of great musicians. Their music, which uses the highland
bagpipe, flute, and fiddle as its melodic core, is tighter, more intense, and harder-driven than the Battlefield Band, Silly Wizard or other of their contemporaries. Despite their mostly acoustic sound,
they're the closest thing to a rock and roll band in intensity and attitude that the Scottish traditional music scene has to offer. ~ Steve Winick, All-Music Guide (From CD-NOW Biography)
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Official Web Site
Celtic Heritage Article
Epinions
Recent Album: Rising
By the late '80s and early '90s it seemed Celtic bands might become an endangered species, as one mainstay after another dissolved. Thankfully, the late '90s brought a renaissance in the form of exciting new lineups like Solas, Lunasa, Nomos, Old Blind Dogs, and Kila. To this list add Tarras, whose debut album Rising is aptly titled. The quintet hails from both sides of the Scottish/English borders region,
has an average age of 21, and spotlights a fiddler who's only 17. Youthful exuberance abounds, but this album's instrumental prowess is as polished as that of seasoned vets. Equally surprising is the band's command of the traditional idiom. Of the album's thirteen tracks, only
three are from the public domain, though all of the instrumentals sound as if they could be. Typical of Tarras' approach is the "Da Fields O'Foula" set. Jon Redfern's gentle guitar opens the piece, but quickly gives way to the edgy accordion melodies of Ben Murray, whose work evokes
the Penguin Caf Orchestra. Joss Clapp's bass and Rob Armstrong's cittern fill out the sound and allow Emma Hancock's fiddle to slice across the mix and take it to melodic heights. Hancock is a true marvel. She's classically trained and it shows. Her command of her instrument's
upper register would be impressive in any context, but from one so young it's simply astounding. By the time Redfern puts down the guitar and adds percussion and Murray switches to penny whistle, the piece hops to as well as glides. Where Tarras most departs from tradition is in
its original songs. "So Tired" has the unhurried, bluesy feel of an old Crosby, Stills, and Nash song. By contrast, "Whisky Town" could be a pop song if its backing instrumentation weren't so superior to Top 40 fare. Tarras takes it name from a glen in the Cheviot Hills separating
Scotland and England. But if they keep making albums like this, fans will associate them with the peaks, not the valley. Rob Weir - review in Sing Out (From CD-NOW reviews listing)
CD NOW
Celtic Heritage Article
Recent Album: Suicide Pact-You First
FORMED: 1989
With their buzzing guitars, tortured lyrics, and undeniable melodic gifts, Therapy? is one of the best post-modern heavy metal bands. Hailing from Belfast, Ireland, Therapy? combines the sonic rush of Hsker D and the Buzzcocks with the straightforward riffing and sensibility of
Black Sabbath. Guitarist Andy Cairns' soul-baring can be embarrassingly clichd at times, yet the melodrama of the lyrics can be easily ignored when the band locks into their intense, tuneful grind. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All-Music Guide (From CDNOW Biography)
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