Fused

He wears his heart on his sleeve, Michael McGoldrick.

Playing wooden flute, uileann pipes, low whistle and bamboo flute with the odd electric guitar chord sequence thrown in for good measure, he fuses instruments, genres and moods as though licensed to kill preconceptions of what can make for cosy bedmates. With six originals sitting alongside seven more traditional tunes (albeit ones subject to distinctly innovative arrangements), he makes no bones about his appetite for experimentation on Fused.

Fused is exactly what it says it is then: old and new ideas melded to create entirely new compounds that refuse to fit seamlessly into our traditional notions of jigs, reels and hornpipes. And the results of this experimentation? Probably one of the most refreshing collections to see the light of day since Moving Hearts lay their cardiac muscles to rest.

It's not so much a question of looking for standouts. After all, how can you spot the tallest sunflower in a field full of a bumper crop? Whether it's the sublimely naked arrangements of 'Terry Teehan's/Her Long Black Hair' (the latter a beloved Junior Crehan original), or the spunky cheek of the twinned McGoldrick tunes 'James Brown's March/Noon Lassies' (truly a title bould enough to induce apoplexy in purists everywhere), only a corpse could resist the sheer magnetic force of the music.

Beyond McGoldrick's own instruments of choice, there's a plethora of other fine musical shapes to be found lurking in the undergrowth, including Dezi Donnelly's flute, Manus Lunny's bouzouki and guitar, Alan Kelly's accordion, Johnny Kalsi's tablas (and even a tabla sample from one Talvin Singh). And for bonus points Karan Casey lends vocals to the closing track 'Donal Sg', a pensive, expansive arrangement of a fine Frank Harte song, and Karen Matheson slips it all into serious groove mode with her hypnotic vocals on 'Buain a' Choirce'.

Fused is a thing of beauty and a welcome arrival to ward off the perils of bleak January days.