Ireland’s tradition of breeding generation after generation of wondrous female singers is showing no sign of letting up. Don’t believe me? Ciara Sidine, already acknowledged as a literary editor in Dublin, now carves her name in another tree with “Shadow Road Shining”.
Interestingly, “Take Me Down” has the guitar-twang of a future Nashville hit, while, by contrast, “The Arms of Summer” – complete with a delightful contribution from Steve Wickham on fiddle – has a genuine celtic opulence to it. Such transatlantic variation can occasionally leave an album lop-sided, but Ms Sidine appears to have struck a balance.
Musical influence seems indeed to be drawn from both sides of the Atlantic but the clear and unmistakeable pervasion, unsurprisingly, comes from closer to home. Both in her own singing (which varies throughout but is consistently heart-grabbing) and in the instrumentation on offer, there is evident and repeated tribute paid to Ireland.
An obvious point of interest on this album is the vocal power and grace channelled by Ms Sidine. While never siding with any definite school of song, Ms Sidine tackles each song with apparent passion with ”Mercy Moon” and “Hollow the Breeze” capturing her voice at its most stretched. Even then, it’s joyous listening.
Spared from being the sole bearer of emotion, vocals on “Constellations High” are shared with Jack Lukeman, who proves a pleasant and capable foil to Sidine. Such tenderness only escalates as the album ends with “To Be With You” and “Sleepy Eyes” proving particularly sweet.
Judging by the quality of the lyrical content (and the intensity in which they are voiced), Ms Sidine must have had plenty of food for thought. Thankfully, her talents as an editor are (at least) matched by her spellbinding vocals. “Shadow Road Shining” is an impressive debut release from a clearly talented woman.