Friday, September 12, 2008

New CDs From Two of Our Favorites... Solas & The Duhks

Two very cool groups... favorites of several of us in Celtic Cross... have recently released new CDs that are must listens for folks who love Celtic/Irish music.

The Duhks are a cool folk funk Celtic playing group from Manitoba that have put out several great records over the last year. Awesome songwriting is their hallmark... especially in "Dance Hall Girls" & "You and I" from a previous release... both of which remain in my iPod most played tracks.

Their new release is called Fast Paced World is a great listen... grungy and tough and well played, and so well written. The track "You Don't See It" has literally been played dozens of times on my iPod already. Very very cool trad playing on this... groundbreaking stuff in a time when so much new Celtic stuff is so so neopunk influenced. This is much more New Orleans funk meets Seattle grunge meets Nashville folk.

And the masters themselves... Solas also have a brand new record out called "For Love and Laughter." No one plays Celtic or Irish traditional music better in this writer's humble opinion... and Solas is at the top of their game in this new CD. The harmonies played between Winifred Horan's fiddle and Mick McAuley's accordion actually send chills up my back. Interestingly, members of the Duhk's actually played with Solas on several tracks... and you can hear essence of these two groups dovetail elegantly. An awesome pairing of two great styles.

Both are must have records... and both are on iTunes or available through the band websites above. Enjoy...

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