Aided by nearly two dozen guest musicians, this effort from
the Afrocelts (aka
the Afro-Celt Sound System) veers off in a slightly different direction from previous releases. Still present are the multi-culti layers of sound, the club-friendly beats, and the ethereal vocalists. What's missing is some of the hyper-kinetic energy and heavy drum presence that helped the first few
Afro-Celt releases grab their audiences; in their place is a gentler, more soothing feel. Fiddler
Eileen Ivers and flamenco guitarist
Jesse Cook both make major contributions to the colorations of this new sound, while never quite upstaging the core bandmembers. ~ Stacia Proefrock