Mulholland & McCluskey

Having played together countless times over the past 20 years, Brendan Mulholland and Micky McCluskey finally commit themselves to disc as a duo with a bracing introduction to a partnership with much to say and the means to say it. Hailing from Co Antrim, Mulholland's flute playing (all on wooden instruments) is steeped in his native Ulster tradition and clearly influenced by studies with the legendary Matt Molloy and the Breton master Jean-Michel Veillon. Rooted in rock and pop music, Co Armagh man McCluskey's guitars and bouzouki provide a fresh, contemporary sounding board and support that pleases as much as it surprises with his often unconventional responses to Mulholland's well-schooled traditional impulses. With backing from Seán Óg Graham's keyboards and the double bass of Trevor Hutchinson, the result is a lithe and altogether elegant collection of old and new delivered with lightly thrown-off virtuosity. There's contrast aplenty: the Donegal-sourced ‘Bó Mhín Na Toitean’ making subtle use of McCluskey's rock leanings (it's there, too, in the animated ‘The Trip Round Mallusk’), while his own ‘Síocháin Agus Suaimhneas’ a strikingly simple and beautiful retreat into a pastoral idyll. A tender and true take on ‘The Parting Glass’ folding into the sweetly blissful reel ‘Christmas Eve’ showcases two craftsmen in blissful harmony.