Harmony Hill

DERVISH are a Sligo troupe who know a thing or two about poking up the ashes of a piece of traditional music until it bursts into flames.

Their modus operandi is deceptively straightforward. No gimmicks, no tricks, no attempts to "reinvent" the genre or to mate it with Iranian nose-flute music, just tunes and songs honed and burnished to perfection. Harmony Hill is brightly ablaze with spirit and style.

Given the band's prominent use of flute and fiddle and the central position occupied by Cathy Jordan's vocals, comparisons with the brilliant Altan are inevitable. Dervish may not quite be in that exalted league just yet, but nor are they completely overshadowed by the comparison. Jordan's voice is rich and laden with personality and, on the evidence of Harmony Hill alone, very versatile. If I have a reservation, it's in the choice of songs. Of the six featured here, only about three are really worthy of Dervish's interpretation. Others like 'The Fair Main' are a little too wobbly and musically cumbersome for their own good. For me, the album's finest moment comes with the fifty-three second long 'Bellaghy Fair', a beautiful cameo exquisitely delivered by Jordan.

Dervish are relatively new candidates on the Irish traditional electoral circuit. But, proposed by my ear and seconded by my feet, they certainly get this constituent's vote.

* Liam Fay