Search - Mary Mc Laughlin :: Daughter Of Lir

A haunting aural masterpeice.

Dave | Jamesville, NY USA | 07/19/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I just happened to catch one of Mary Mc Lauglin's songs at the end of a PBS broadcast and was immediately intrigued. "Daughter Of Lir" more than confirmed my intuition that I was on to something unique. Mary's voice is absolutely haunting, made all the more so by her lush harmonies. I've not heard a more "Celtic" voice. While comparisons to Enya, Clannad and Lorena Mc Kennitt are in order, Mc Laughlin's musical stylings are in a class unto themself - less formulaic and predictable than her contemporaries. This CD reminds of what I so loved about the music of Dead Can Dance: archean, yet worldly and imbued with an unpretentious spirituality. I hope we hear much more from her."

Amazing, subtly brilliant

antistrophe | Seattle, WA USA | 09/03/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a high schooler from Seattle, WA and I heard Mary McLaughlin's "You Saw His Eyes" in an albumn called Celtic Song. I thought it was absouloutly brilliant. I do not yet have this CD, but judging from the beauty of "You Saw His Eyes", I'd say this collection will probably be very good as well."

Not particularly Celtic, but interesting folk fusion

Brianna Neal | USA | 10/01/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Mary McLaughlin is an innovative singer/songwriter whose talents also include playing keyboard and acoustic guitar. Her rich, full, penetrating voice, equally at home in low and middle-high registers, ranges from clear and sweet to raw and folksy on this album, and is frequently multitracked or combined with other female singers for increased effect. She has a penchant for well-crafted, almost meditative repetition of elements within some of her more originally-styled compositions--not (as seems to be the case for more artists than I could possibly list ...) because she can't think of anything else to do, but rather because of the cool hypnotic effect it creates. The first track, "Sealwoman / Yundah," is a primal, powerful example of this as it builds and develops from a soft, solo Hebridean chant to a whole choir of multitracked voices. It's one of those songs that's worth the price of the whole album. On the whole though, "Daughter of Lir" is a real mixed bag of musical styles, most of them not very Celtic-sounding, so the album title is a bit misleading. The majority of the songs were written by McLaughlin and all feature vocals, though there are no lyrics printed in the minimalistic insert. McLaughlin and the other two female singers are accompanied by guitars and keyboards, laid over occasional acoustic or programmed drums, and sometimes with cello and distant pipes thrown into the mix. None of the tracks are particularly lively, so if you're in search of a good, rousing jig or reel, don't look here. But if you're in a quiet, contemplative mood and looking for a predominantly gentle, soothing exploration of sound, style and timbre with some intriguing twists thrown in for good measure, "Daughter of Lir" is a good choice. It reminds me somewhat of the work of Susan McKeown or Niamh Parsons, two other sultry, low-voiced singers who offer laid back, progressive interpretations of the Celtic genre. Besides McLaughlin, the other musicians contributing to this album are: backing vocalists Christine Kydd, Margaret Horton, keyboardist Mike Cosgrove, guitarist Christy McGuigan, cellist Sherry Robinson, drum programmer John Jacobs, and multi-instrumentalist Steafan Hannigan, whose roster of instruments includes percussion, pipes, electric guitar and "exploding bouzouki", whatever that is ... (hopefully not the same thing as an exploding bazooka!). Mary McLaughlin is featured on the Narada compilation album "Celtic Voices: Women of Song," along with Connie Dover, Maireid Sullivan and Emma Christian. Try also the work of Lydia McCauley.

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