Welcome Here Again

Over the course of his career, he been slowly stripping everything extraneous from his music. In the long, long break since his last CD, he's obviously made a lot of progress on the road, as the opening cute, demonstrates. There's no fat here; everything serves to highlight the simple beauty of the melody, exposing and buffing it to a silky brilliance. His County Clare style isn't built for speed (although he can switch it on at times), but for a kind of meditation -- as Zen -- finding the glory at the heart of a tune. At times, as with the slow air he achieves something quite remarkable, taking a piece of music to its core and revealing something as complex and lovely as a sonata. There are very judicious overdubs, and although is the frontman, much of the success of this record actually lies with partner . The two enjoy a symbiotic relationship by now, and exudes small touches of brilliance that enhance what does -- shadowing a melody on mandolin, playing his guitar like a harp, or working harmonically around the melody to throw a fresh light on it. Even in the instances where his playing emphasizes rhythm, it's done with gentle subtlety, never detracting from the melody above. All of that serves to make an album that glistens and show just what an inventive duo they are, as well as highlight the inescapable fact that has become the leading fiddler of his generation, one who thinks about the music as much as he feels it. And might well be the finest album in a long, long time. ~ Chris Nickson