Lúnasa -The Kinnitty Sessions
By Alice Farrell in New York

I know, I know, I've had this album to review for over a month now, but I was saving it for something special. Spring is upon us, and with that comes the always daunting Spring Cleaning, and when I'm cleaning, there's nothing better to get the duster going than a good dose of Super-trad, and nobody does it better than Lunása .

Their new cd “ The Kinnity Sessions ” on Compass Records , recorded live at Kinnity Castle , which is conveniently located smack dab in the centre of Ireland , has much of the feel of a session in your favorite pub, and plenty of foot stomping music to get the blood pumping.

From the start with the reels Stolen Purse: Stolen Purse/An Sioda Slide/Brendan McMahon's Reel the pace is set and it's off to the races we go. The music on this CD spans the breadth of their musical catalog, bringing along with it the driving jigs and reels that manage to whip audiences into a frenzy. It's also great to hear a live CD that has the energy and feel of a live room without the extraneous room noise and applause included, which can be jarring to the listener.

There is the ever lithe fiddle work of Sean Smyth on the strathspey Punch : which then shifts to the jigs Trip to Windsor and Punch in the Dark complete with Lunása's characteristic syncopations and literal punching of the air with their instruments. This one had me dancing down the hall and back with the mop!

What I find most satisfying about Lunása is not only their individual virtuosity on their instruments, but the incredibly synchronized band that they have become, and how tight their sets are, with twists and turns that take you on a great ride, and this album certainly has plenty of that. In addition there is a lot of whistle on this album and nowhere does it feature more beautifully than as the solid undercurrent for the set Sean in the Fog: Easter Sunday/Come Back With My Bloody Car/Sean Sa Che. The build of the music, started by the whistle and then joined by the pipes and fiddle is terrific, and revs up with addition of the flute into the rousing reels to follow.

If I had to select a favorite piece on the cd it would be the set entitled The Walrus: The Four Courts/Michael Kennedy's Reel which features some lightning fast double-tonguing on the flute by Kevin Crawford and a sumptuous intertwining of the flute, whistles and guitar.

So roll up your sleeves, throw the windows open wide and crank this one up on the stereo to usher in the advent of Spring!