Against the Tide,
Distant Oaks' third album, once again finds the
White family -- mother
Deborah and teenage sons
Jared and
Shayne -- offering listeners some outstanding classic Celtic music. From the eerie ballad "Willie Macintosh" to the light and spritely "Mist Covered Mountain/Johnny McGrevey's," they deliver professional quality. The trio plays a diverse selection of traditional instruments.
Deborah White brings in guitar, citole, cittern, and fretted dulcimer;
Jared adds quite a variety of wind instruments: recorders, whistles, krummhorn, Scottish smallpipes, and Border pipes, as well as percussion with the bodhrán;
Shayne completes the gathering with both Celtic and Medieval harps, and contributes his skills as a stepdancer to live performances. On "Cottage in the Grove/Paddy Taylor's," the arrangement is bright with lilting whistles, while "Ran Na Maighdinn-Mhara" features marvelously ethereal strings. One very minor caveat is that some listeners may wish there was a bit more from some types of the instruments. This album is strong on pipes. A touch more harp next time would be nice as well. ~ Murrday Fisher