I Could Read The Sky

I Could Read The Sky is a timely reminder of a matchless book from Timothy O'Grady. The book has spawned a film, and now a soundtrack, coaxed and cajoled into being by O Lionaird, the finest sean nss singer to be found anywhere in these islands today.

As you'd expect from him, this

is no aural wallpaper. Naturally O Lionaird's vocals provide the scaffolding of the piece, but they also act as a magnet for a disturbingly eclectic range of forces which magnify the schizoid divide between the urban and rural that so suffused O'Grady's writing.

For starters there's Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill tiptoeing across a rural landscape on 'Mother', while their later offering, 'The Old Road To Garry' is an evocative, unsullied reminder of the best of what was left at home.

Elsewhere, sounds are interwoven in a dreamscape. Dermot Healy's voice ebbs and flows in 'In England', unadorned, bare naked.

Of course there are guests who colour and shade on cue: Siniad O'Connor lends a gorgeous voice to 'RoisLn Dubh' and duets with O Lionaird on 'Singing Bird';

Noel Hill's concertina is all that's needed to ignite 'The Mountains of Pomeroy'.

And there's more. Layer upon layer to be peeled away with every listening. One thing's for sure and certain: I Could Read The Sky is an album to inhabit, not merely to listen to.