This is an excerpt from the print edition of Dirty Linen Magazine #99 (April / May 2002). The magazine is available on newsstands and by subscription.

The Reel World
by Tom Nelligan

Lots of CDs from Canada and other northern locales arrived in the mail this month, no doubt part of an annual seasonal migration of discs heading south for the winter in search of a warmer climate. While that phenomenon certainly merits serious scientific study, I'll limit myself to some notes on the music.

Celtic music has long enjoyed a big following in Atlantic Canada, thanks to the abundance of both performers and fans in that region. As a result, a style has evolved in the Atlantic provinces that's a little more commercial than that of most recordings coming out of points south and west. Among the groups that have found a broad audience is the long-running Newfoundland quintet called The Irish Descendants. They start with the robust vocals of lead singer Con O'Brien and harmonies from his mates, add fiddle and squeezebox, electric and acoustic guitars, bass and drums, and create a big, hearty sound that suggests what might have happened if Stan Rogers had joined the Dubliners. Blooming Bright Star [Sextant Records SXT-CD-0001 (2001)] is the group's most recent album, including old songs like the music hall ditty "My Irish Molly" (a fun arrangement featuring trombone and Dixieland banjo) and a highly electrified "She Moved Through the Fair," some adept covers of familiar songs like Dougie MacLean's "Caledonia" and Paul Brady's "The Island," and a couple of fast tune sets. The band has also released Night at the Pub [Avalon 20917 (2001)], a "best of" compilation drawn from five previous albums that has a similar mix of material. It serves as a good introduction to the Descendants and their enduring and very popular style.

There are eight more recordings discussed in this column from Dirty Linen #99 (Apr./May '02). Read the full text in the magazine, available via subscription or on newsstands and in bookstores.