Scatter the Light

Scatter the Light, the latest album by Grammy-winning violin virtuoso Eileen Ivers, is jam-packed with tracks showcasing the Irish-American's nonpareil talent. Listening to Ivers soloing on ‘Chase the Blues Away’, a hybridised Irish-reel-cum-Soweto-township-jive number, the patchwork quilt commonly called world music spreads out in sharp relief. Immersed in the gossamer melodic lines of ‘Gratitude’, rendered in a reverie of accordion drone melding with pizzicato string plucking, one finds sublime solace in a time of pandemic anguish. Jamming to the pew-emptying gospel groove that propels ‘Children Go’, the well-known African-American spiritual, Ivers and her talented cohorts – Buddy Connolly (accordion, whistles, keyboards), Matt Mancuso (guitar, trumpet, fiddle, vocals), Lindsey Horner (upright and electric bass, baritone sax), Dave Barckow (percussion, guitar, vocals) – make it easy to let go of troubling concerns. When Ivers launches into ‘Wah-Wah One Violin’ on electric blue ZETA Strados acoustic-electric fiddle, the mood swoons with psychedelic nostalgia. Even ‘You Are Strong (A Friend's Story)’, a harrowing #MeToo tale delivered in a rap style, comes across as an uplifting call to solidarity. A slickly packaged, overbearing effervescence, which some might find off-putting, permeates a few tracks, but this doesn't spoil the overall compelling nature of Scatter the Light.