THE ALT

The Alt, it should be remembered, is the combination of three musicians and singers. John Doyle, an outstanding guitarist who, after a few years with Solas, accompanied a host of talents including Liz Carroll and Karan Casey. He also excels on bouzouki, mandolin and keyboards. Joining him is Dundalk flautist Nuala Kennedy, who has since moved to Co. Clare. And finally Eamon O'Leary who, like John, lives in the United States, plays the bouzouki and harmonium. All three are equally talented singers, and their voices can be heard on most of the tracks on the album.

The ten tracks come from a wide variety of sources: ballad collections, traditional music archives and a few personal compositions. Three tracks are in Gaelic, including the upbeat title track Ta 'na Lá, led by Nuala, a song from the kingdom of Oriel in the Norton-east of Ireland.
On Falkirk Fair John tackles a darkly humorous ballad about the misadventures of a lurker. On Willow Tree, a song by Pádraigín Ní Úallacháin, Eamon starts the melody, soon joined by Nuala and John. Songs and instrumentals follow, with fiddlers Kevin Burke and Marius Pibarot appearing on four of them.
Of particular note was the particularly successful rendition of the song Páidín Ó Raifeartaigh, which was followed by two reels, Lohan's composed by John and The Donegal Tinker. Instrumentally, it doesn't get much better than these three. The interplay between John and Eamon is often reminiscent of the duo Andy Irvine and Paul Brady.
It's hard to find a single criticism to make of a quality album that brings together three first-rate artists.

Under The Arch UTACD002 – www.thealtmusic.com