Rating:
Genre:
World
Release Date: 02/10/2009
Run Time: 66:08
Iarla Ó Lionáird's second solo album is a significant departure from the first. For one thing,
I Could Read the Sky is a film soundtrack (or, in the currently more popular phrase, a collection of "music written for and inspired by the film"), so it's necessarily more impressionistic and programmatic. But it's also quite a bit more beat driven than its predecessor, and, therefore, a bit more reminiscent of
Ó Lionáird's work with his regular band,
the Afro Celt Sound System. Even with the beats, the music is invariably moody and generally downtempo.
Ó Lionáird's haunting voice has much to do with that overall mood; on the very dark
"Iron and Gold" and his arresting version of
"I Am Stretched on Your Grave," his voice soars like a bird over a rocky and twilit landscape of synthesized chordal washes and tweaked drum loops. But the judicious use of eerie spoken-word samples (
"Knuckles to the Marrow," "In England") contribute to that ambience, as well. Other highlight tracks include a typically impeccable performance of
"The Old Road to Garry" by fiddler
Martin Hyes and guitarist
Dennis Cahill. A surprise disappointment is
Sinéad O'Connor's anemic performance of
"Roisin Dubh." Highly recommended overall.
~Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
;)
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