Rating:
Genre:
Celtic
Release Date: 05/11/2004
You don't hear trumpet, string bass, and percussion (unless it's a bodhran) on
Celtic recordings very often, and for some people that's just the way it ought to be. But for those who cherish their
Boys of the Lough and
Matt Molloy albums but also like to hear the tradition messed with just a bit from time to time, this type of thing is just the ticket.
Grada play with obvious respect for the ancient roots of their music, but also without any apparent fear that they might break it through experimentation. So the first thing you hear on
"Tread Softly" is a cello; the melody of the original composition
"Inis Dornish" sounds more Eastern European than Irish; the vocal numbers are cover versions of modern songs written by the likes of
Emily Saliers and
Teddy Thompson (son of
Richard). In short, this is an album that will be filed in the
Celtic section with the trad stuff, even though it spends as much time looking to the future as to the past. Still, there's nothing willful or quirky about the band's sound; singer
Anne Marie O'Malley delivers everything with a gentle elegance, and even when the band lapses into jazzy
jam band mode it never goes on long before the flute and fiddle are suddenly playing closely arranged harmonies or lilting off into another
traditional reel. Most albums of
Celtic music yield their charms quickly, but this one grows on you. Highly recommended.
~Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
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