Artist: The Angels’ Share
Album: A Wee Dram
Looks can deceive, and expectations can sometimes turn out to be false. For me, that’s the case with A Wee Dram. That title, combined with the group’s name, seemed to imply this album would be all about whisky songs, sung by half-drunken tough guys. Not in this case.
A Wee Dram features a collection of mostly traditional Celtic songs that are at best tangentially connected to the famous malt drink. Of course this in itself does not mean that the music can’t be good. Indeed, these singers, who are, far from being whisky-drinking tough guys, ladies with voices sweet as honey, show flashes of talent, especially in the (too) few original songs.
And yet, there’s something jarring. I don’t know if it’s because the different voices don’t sync properly or because some notes are missed, but it’s a little off-putting. Perhaps the choice of music is a bit unfortunate; I can’t help thinking that these girls would sound better singing New Age music. Or they could have gone into a totally different direction and fill up the CD with more songs in the style of the enjoyable I’ll Tell Me Ma. Right now it sort of sits in the middle, and I’m afraid that’s a bit of a missed chance.
Jan Jacob Mekes has a passion for history, writing, and writing history (and music, of course). He runs an online cultural magazine, Cultural Zest. You can read more examples of his writings on his portfolio. Jan also writes reviews for Marc Gunn’s Celtic MP3s Music Magazine.
