Album Review: 'The Gap Of Dreams' from Altan

This is Altan’s 16th album since their formation in 1987, and their first studio effort since 2015’s The Widening Gyre. Throughout their career, the Donegal act have displayed an impressive level of musical inventiveness.

With The Gap Of Dreams, though, they’ve dug deeper, fashioning an album that reeks of history and of simpler times, when music and dancing were the glue that held rural communities together; real (and reel) channels of respite from hard living. Borrowing its title from poet Francis Carlin’s line “the gap of dreams is never shut”, the record skilfully blends trad material with original pieces. There’s an elegant take on the reel ‘Seán sa Cheo’, while accordionist Martin Tourish contributes two sprightly numbers, ‘Oíche Fheidhmuúil’ and ‘Tuar’.

The originals include singer Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh’s neat jig ‘The Gap Of Dreams’, and ‘Nia’s Jig’, written by Ní Mhaonaigh’s daughter Nia Byrne. Sam Kelly, son of band member Mark, also adds to the sense of family occasion with his superb concertina on ‘The Beekeeper’.

Ní Mhaonaigh’s vocals are as beguiling as ever, particularly on the wistful ‘The Month Of January’, while ‘Cumha an Oileáin’ is a timely reminder of the beauty of the Irish language, and ‘An Bealach Seo Tá Romham’ boasts a welcome apperance by Moya Brennan. Ciarán Curran’s bouzouki and the guitars of Dáithí Sproule and Mark Kelly add to the eclectic musical palette, with the production by Michael Kenney and Tommy McLaughlin also top-notch.

It all makes for an uplifting musical experience and an early candidate for critics’ year-end lists.

Record label: Compass records
Must listen to: ‘The Month of January’
Rating: 8.5/10