Brendan Taaffe: Review of Michelle O’Brien, Aogán Lynch, & Gavin Ralston




Michelle O’Brien, Aogán Lynch, & Gavin Ralston

Youth is well-served. Aogán Lynch was the TG4 Young Musician of the Year in 1999, and is one of the young lads taking the concertina to new technical heights, Michelle O’Brien is a fiery fiddler with a strong mark of Tommy Peoples, and Gavin Ralston is a guitar player. The sets of tunes here are tight and well-crafted, with an interesting choice of repertoire. For the most part, all three play together. Ralston has a driving, out-front style on guitar—not for those who prefer the guitar solidly in the background—and Lynch and O’Brien mesh well. Of particular note, though, for fiddlers is Michelle’s solo version of The Merry Sisters and Paddy Ryan’s Dream, dripping with the Peoples accent and spitting triplets. Aogán’s playing of the slow air My Bonnie Blue-Eyed Lassie is so lyrical and moving that you could swear you hear someone singing, foreshadowing Caitlin Begley—Lynch’s mother and one of a clan of great singers—joining the group for a beautiful seán nos song later on. It shows that the trio is solidly grounded in the tradition, even as they tear it up with their technical prowess.

Overall a very nice piece of work; the music these three put together is dynamic and exciting. The album is well-produced, but not overly so, and fans of the Tommy Peoples style will be particularly happy to hear one so young doing it so well.