Iarla O’Lionaird
I Could Read the Sky
Real World
A crystal clear, perfect voice streaming enchanting Gaelic laments trademark Iarla’s work for me, as well as his membership in Afro-Celt Sound System. Here, his angelic pure vocal quality flourishes in as many different stylings and treatments as there are tracks, and in as many different musical beds.
A handful of contemporaries – James McNally, David Botrill, Ron Aslan and Martin Hayes among others – join in to provide some blissfully wedded ethnic-techno diversions, some seriously programmed shuffalongs, or perhaps a lonely lilting plucked banjo.
Maybe just fiddlin’ a jig, or some very cool Eno-like ambient atmoscapes. A trippy, trancy groove supporting some spoken word, or a sonic icy windstorm. Sinead O’Connor even drops by, lending her ways, and ends up in a duet with Iarla.
I Could Read the Sky is a very varied palette of musical scenes inspired by the film of the same name. The countryside’s rural traditions clashing with London’s urban sprawl of confusion and chaos is the theme tying this album to the movie.
This one won’t let you down when you’re looking for a new mood.
Real World, c/o Narada, 4650 N. Port Washington Rd., Milwaukee, WI 53212-1063; realwrld@narada.com
