Dúchas

Button accordionist O'Reilly stays close to home in his first solo outing on disc with material drawn from his native North Clare. Dúchas (Heritage) is more than a mere homage to the past, O'Reilly's alert, fluid and finger-tip delicate technique dexterously searching out new approaches fit for contemporary ears. Melody is to the fore in nimbly executed playing where understated technique services flowing lyricism and emotional immediacy.

If O'Reilly has a signature, it's his penchant for knowing when to rein in and when to push forward – qualities he puts to use throughout. No less defining is the strikingly reciprocal sense of ensemble he crafts with accompanists John Blake (guitar), Padraic O'Reilly (piano) and Caoimhín Ó Fearghail (bouzouki). With the accent on intimacy, a first listen risks sliding by with the liquid ease of a glass of porter but return visits bring subtle commentaries and asides into sharper, more rewarding focus. O'Reilly's tendency to indulge in purple passages only adds to the pleasure and fittingly imbues the set with the feeling of a tight-knit seisún. Quietly satisfying.