Exposé
Issue No. 34 March 2007
Many will remember Alison O’Donnell’s voice from the 1872 prog-folk classic Swaddling Songs by Mellow Candle, along with keyboardist/vocalist/songwriter Clodagh Simonds. O’Donnell then moved to Johannesburg along with the guitarist from Mellow Candle and founded a new group called Flibertigibbet, moving in more traditional directions, and also began working in other musical endeavors, including television and session work. In 2001 O’Donnell returned home to her native Dublin, and began work on numerous musical projects, including this collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Isabel Ní Chuireáin. The 12 songs herein, mostly originals co-written by both, nonetheless have deep roots in the traditional music of Ireland, fusing those roots with folk, pop, and some rock and jazz embellishments. O’Donnell’s voice is stronger and more expressive than ever, handling all of the lead, harmony and backing parts; her lyrics reach into a wealth of personal experience and perspective, relaying stories and recollections, even taking a fun and poignant stab at Catholic society in Ireland with “Hangover from Hell”. Ní Chuireáin’s main instruments are keyboards, accordion, and acoustic guitar; together they have assembled a superb group of support musicians to help realize these creations, joining on fiddle, acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin, drums, string bass, whistles, pipes, and more, as needed. The disc incl purely instrumental tunes as well, contributing to an overall greater sense of variety. Those into the more traditionally rooted musical hybrids will certainly want to give this a listen. – Peter Thelen

Mojo December 2006
Beyond Folk - top 50 genre-bending folk classics of the last forty years
Mellow Candle Swaddling Songs Folk rock at its most acidic and velvety. The highpoints of Swaddling Songs are among the most spine-tingling performances from anyone, ever.
Given that they were on a major, this makes Mellow Candle's even more baffling. Irish duo Clodagh Simonsd and Alison Williams' soaring harmonies on Sheep Season are backed by a full band and woodwinds, chasing back the centuries, creating something quite magical. (BS)

Last year, while reviewing an excellent book on Irish folk and blues, I was reminded of a great group that I'd heard many years ago at a local festival in Wexford. As often happens when you are reminded of a sound from your youth, you want to recapture it. Unfortunately, CDs by Mellow Candle are probably as rare as hen's teeth, so I gave up. But the world is an amazing place, and this week I found Mise agus Ise ("Myself & Herself"), featuring the beautiful voice of Alison O'Donnell, along with Isabel Ni Chuireain. Alison was the 15-year-old sweet voice of the aforementioned Mellow Candle, and she has lost none of the magic -- in fact, I think she probably sounds even better.

Opening with "The Blackcap," a wonderful song from the viewpoint of the bird of the title, the CD moves effortlessly into my favourite track on the album. It is mesmerizing, almost a nonsense song about love and music, but "A Skip & I Do" has that life and bounce so often neglected in modern music.

If you enjoy great instrumental sounds, head for track three, "By the Weir." Here we have Alison as the multi-instrumentalist, ably assisted on low whistle by Martin Crossan. They sound almost orchestral in this rendition.

The joy of this album is the fact that you get expert playing and performing combined with well-thought-out lyrics, but they never lose sight of the humour in even the most poignant situation. "Hangover from Hell" is a song that reflects Ireland in the 21st century with a sharp turn of phrase, not a little humour and a knowing clarity.

In many ways this is a very personal album. Most of the songs come from Alison's pen and reflect on modern life, families and even past wars, as on "Armistice Day," inspired by the memories of survivors of the Great War 80 years after the ceasefire. She also takes other composers' lyrics and weaves a new cloth, as with Thom Moore's "Turn the Corner."

The lush and powerful playing of Isabel complements Alison's vocals. It is only when we listen to an album like this that we realize the essential ingredients of a magic performance. We need the lyrics and voice, but it is the arrangement and accompaniment that adds that indefinable spark to turn good into great.

Lilting Irish melodies are given a taste of cabaret and jazz by O'Donnell's exuberant vocal style. Ni Chuireain provides most of the instrumental support on keyboards and accordion; she's a good box squeezer with a fluid style which reminds me a little of the great Phil Cunningham. — KR

Since 1972’s cult class Swaddling Songs with Dublin trio Mellow Candle, O’Donnell’s career has taken many a twist. But having ventured into TV ads, political satire, choreography and the heady realm of public sector admin, she continues to sing in folk combos. This delicate Celtic collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Ní Chuireáin is lightly flavoured with accordion and piano, reaching a glorious peak on epic jazz ballad “Mother of Pearl”.

A stately mix of the weird and traditional, there are enough pipes, popping fingers, grisly war stories and songs about frolicking Hebridean seals to satisfy a range of folk palettes.

Mise Agus Ise’ the Gaelic for myself and herself marks the return of Alison O’Donnell vocalist and songwriter with Irish Acid Folk band Mellow Candle. Isabel Ní Chuireáin is a multi-instrumentalist from Donegal whose work has graced bands like Celtic Fusion and Major to Minor. This duet album is a collaborative effort with both parties contributing material. Musically it moves from traditional style instrumentals to songs that are in some cases nostalgic flashbacks to O’Donnell’s Dublin upbringing and some more recent social comment-type songs. The latter are among the most challenging works but yield their truth convincingly and portray O Donnell as a social commentator of some considerable weight. ‘Hangover from Hell’ with its Gospel style harmonies and strong forthright lyrics is a scalpel sharp uncovering of the vagaries of contemporary Irish life while ‘In the Web’ describes an abusive relationship again with a sharp concise eye and a traditional style melody.

The delicate and beautiful ‘Mother of Pearl’ recalls a family member long gone. This along with ‘The Blackcap’ and the gorgeous hymnal closing ‘Seals in the Sound’ capture flashbacks of O’Donnell’s own life in 60s’ Dublin and perceptions altered through emigration. Isabel Ní Chuireáin's instrumentals mark a composer of rare sensitivity and poise. The languid glide of ‘By The Weir’ has a Scottish undertone while ‘Heavil’ with its stabbing harpsichord intro recalls Triona Ní Domnhaill’s work with The Bothy Band. Mise agus Ise’s supporting cast includes Mellow Candle members David Williams and Frank Boylan together with O’Donnell for the first time in three decades also Jimmy Faulkner, Sean Whelan and Andy Laking turn in quietly impressive guest slots. An album with much to say and prove, ‘Mise Agus Ise’ is a challenging, thought provoking and often fascinating work uniting a talent considered missing in action and a subtle multi-instrumentalist to the fold.

The evolution of traditional music onlinewww.theunbrokencircle.co.uk
I was particularly pleased when informed that Alison O 'Donnell of classic 1970s folk bands Mellow Candle and Flibbertigibbet had made an album with the enduring Irish folk artist Isabel Ni Chuireáin. Talented music artists are too often ignored by the music industry who needs a constant turnover of artists to generate media interest. Such artists do not lose their talent, which often grows with experience. Mellow Candle were genuinely one of the great bands that should have been far more appreciated with their sole album 'Swaddling' Songs' now considered a classic. Over the last few years we have seen the other singer with the band, Clodagh Simonds return with a Japanese solo album and recently as part of the sublime 'Fovea Hex' project. Although perhaps less known Alison was equally important to that band writing, arranging, playing and singing as part of the ensemble. Likewise Isabel is one of those artists whose talent should be far more known about and hopefully this album will help her become better known.

This album is their personal restatement of musical intention, still bursting with musical ideas and passion with the title translating from Gaelic as 'Myself and Herself'. With the opening track 'The Blackcap' written by Alison as most of the songs are, we have an accomplished Irish acoustic folk sound that incorporates strong electric lead guitar. The song is quite dramatic and would work equally in the worlds of folk or as part of a theatre musical. There is excellent support from the musicians who combine excellently with Dave Williams' restrained fiddle work being notable.

'A Skip and I Do' is next and is a more whimsical mid-tempo song that links folk with an offbeat skipping rhythm and French styled accordion. Then we have a beautiful slow accordion melody to start an instrumental 'By The Weir' that tugs at the heartstrings of the listener reminding of the Amelié soundtrack. When a whistle joins in playing the lead alongside the accordion it is an exquisite combination and very moving. It takes me back to memories of my Irish father playing such music to be as a child while he regaled me with tale stories that evoked an impossibly romantic vision of Ireland. Anybody with even a trace of Ireland in their hearts couldn't help but be profoundly moved. This piece then evolves into the uptempo 'Nutwood and McKelvey's' with pulsing rhythmic bodhrán driving on the whistles, guitar and fiddles as their melodies dance and lock together. It's excellent later in the piece to hear the pipes playing the intricate melody as the intensity grows and the piece becomes a delirious jig.

'Hangover From Hell' couldn't be more different; a slow early 1960s pop blues-pop sound of the type used by Richard Hawley backs a song about trying to live a life of one's own in the earlier dominance of the Catholic Church in Ireland. 'Turn The Corner' considers the Sligo landscape in a slower song with a widescreen arrangement achieved using sustained accordion chords and layered acoustic guitars. 'Armistice Day' is fascinating, taking the stories told to Alison by elderly World War I soldiers in 1998 as the base for the lyrics. These lyrics are applied to a shuffling mid-tempo song that seamlessly merges French accordion song with a Jamaican RockSteady rhythm. The simple accordion and guitar instrumental 'A Wee Tune for Peter' I found especially strong with a wistful, sepia tinted feeling. This piece slowly grows with pipes, whistle and fiddle all playing the melody, the combination of instruments powerful and affecting.

'Mother of Pearl' is timely, its piano, bass and vocal jazz arrangement telling of a mother who has to leave her children with their grandmother. In Ireland at present many women are working who have done exactly this in Poland, coming to Ireland to earn money to help better their children's lives. The consideration of real issues affecting people's lives continues in the sombre 'In The Web', which explores the impact of abuse of power. The electric harpsichord of 'Heavil' leads another strong jaunty instrumental with good keyboards. 'Brace Face' has late night twilight hours piano-jazz arrangement similar to Norah Jones in support of a lyric related to getting through the bad times. Our album then draws to a close with 'Seals In The Sound' where Allison's vocals soar over excellent synthesiser keyboard chords. Over the course of the song the whistle and other instruments are introduced, giving a sense of building momentum. There is a conviction and purpose to this song that almost places it as their signature song in its mixture of folk, contemporary song, traditional arrangements and modern production. When the vocals stop in the middle and the mandolin, accordion and fiddle play a joyous melody, the listener is infected with their vibrant positivity. This piece really does evoke both the wonder of the sea and of the tragic experiences of emigrants in a single song that is a suitable highlight on which to end the album.

In our post 'Riverdance' music industry there perhaps might be a feeling the mainstream that it has 'done' Irish music, but this album shows such perceptions are shallow and miss out on some wonderful music. This is an excellent album by any artist's standards and from two musicians who have been making music for decades, it's particularly welcome in showing how much they still have to offer. Made outside the pressures of fashion, this is a warm, contemporary release that all fans of folk, Irish or contemporary song will enjoy deeply.

Comprising of 11 songs, this female duo have gone and made a rather soothing Irish music album. I dare say if you tried to dance to one of these reels you'd end up tripping over your own feet, such is the slowness of pace. But imagine a nice long drive into the country with Alison O'Donnell and Isabel Ni Chuireain as driving companions. It wouldn't bother you how long you took to get to your destination.

Yes, there are airs, jigs and reels from the tradition, but there's also some very potent folk-rock, jazz, blues and even a touch of reggae- showing how our Alison has kept abreast fully of the times and is still a relevant artist- unlike the twaddle her countryfolk seem intent on winning Eurovision with these days. Her voice is also as beautiful as it was over thirty years ago- and if that's not a recommendation, then we don't know what is. Fully detailed 12 page colour booklet included.
(February 2006)

Hot Press (April 2006)
Ní Chuireáin contributes three lovely instrumental compositions to the CD, notably the elegiac ‘By The Weir’, which sees her playing not only accordion but whistle, keyboards and guitar.
Opening track ‘The Blackcap’ is a fine anthemic ballad in a folk style …

Folk rock at its most acidic and velvety. The highpoints of Swaddling Songs are among the most spine-tingling performances from anyone, ever. Given that they were on a major, this makes Mellow Candle's obscurity even more baffling. Irish duo Clodagh Simonds and Alison Williams' soaring harmonies on Sheep Season are backed by a full band and woodwinds, chasing back the centuries, creating something quite magical. (BS)