This sweet-natured and soaring album shines a relaxed contemporary light on the old tin whistle. There's a grand lineup supporting her, too, with
John Whelan, Paul Averginos,
John Boswell,
Eileen Ivers,
Jerry O'Sullivan and
John Doan mixed in. Not only thoughtful throughout, but fun too, as she proves handily on "The Otter's Nest/Richie Dwyer's," a tune that gives one an idea of how grunge whistle might sound (
Madden is, in fact, playing an air whistle, an instrument that sounds like someone tuning an air brake). One of the best releases to date from Hearts of Space's Celtic subsidiary. ~ Steven McDonald