Ashley MacIsaac

Cape Breton fiddler Ashley MacIsaac is as schizophrenic as ever on his self-titled first release for Decca. With his uniquely punk rock approach to Celtic reels and jigs, MacIsaac has plenty of room to toy with drum loops, reversed passages, and bizarro studio effects, and there are certainly moments where that experimentation pays off. The layered and loping "To America We Will Go" and the brittle "This Is My Father" both benefit from this multi-tiered approach, but it can also seem cluttered and unnecessary . MacIsaac's strength has always been in his forceful fiddle playing, and this translates best in his updates of the traditional "Chorus Jig" and "Bog an Login," but the songs he has decided to test his own singing voice on fare less well.