Tripswitch - John McSherry & Dónal O’Connor
VERT076 Vertical Records

In a new age boom of born again Celtic connections, where there has been a gushing stream of CD launches, much squawked about new releases, and an endless quest for new trad super groups, it has become all to easy to get jaded with the sonic wallpaper of same old, same old. The vision was getting blurred and the sounds droned humdrum as the listener became emotionally detached and de-sensitised to non-stop trad overtures and cluttered orchestrations that tended to over-reach the mark.

A great and welcome relief then to hear John McSherry and Dónal O’Connor come up with Tripswitch.

With Tripswitch both artists seem to have come to fruition with a mature, poised, at times very tender and reflective offering. The sound is stripped back, pared down to essences that reveal a confidence and self-belief that allow the tunes and listener to breathe again. Both O’Connor and McSherry are well known virtuosos from the North and feel no need to indulge in any excesses of showmanship. Tripswitch is a broader trip than that - a new departure for both; a softer, surer expression that unravels and unveils itself as we move through the album. At times the pair even hold back as the listening experience builds into an expansive vision, widescreen horizons where subtly layered guitars and bouzouki take the foreground to shift the mood and pace, trading places with pipes and fiddle.

Tripswitch offers a sense of dimension and space that has been absent from a lot of trad experimentation and production. The colorations are often soft, nuanced, perfectly shaded at times with low whistle and huskily bowed fiddle. There are still controlled surges of energy rush from both musicians as tunes twist, weave, skip and skirl through a range of moods, grooves and cross-culture-calls, but the overall effect of Tripswitch is that of purred incantation, a mellow, iridescent spell that signals a new phase in the creativity of both players. The album is a breath of fresh air and a creative chill out zone that will take familiar audiences by surprise and deservedly create new audiences for Dónal and John.