When Mary Ann Kennedy emailed me and asked if I'd review the new album from her Gaelic band, Cliar, she had no idea we'd be meeting soon. Cliar was one of the featured performers at the 2001 Celtic Colours festival in Cape Breton, and I was there to cover the week's events. By chance, I had Cliar's CD with me in the car at the time, although I hadn't yet had a chance to listen to it.

I was blown away by Cliar's performance at the Gaelic Roots concert that week. That may have been a bad thing for this review -- Cliar had a lot to live up to. Fortunately, the CD does just that.

Besides Kennedy, who sings and plays clarsach (the Scottish harp), Cliar comprises vocalists Arthur Cormack and Maggie Macdonald and backing vocalists Ingrid Henderson (piano and clarsach), Bruce MacGregor (fiddle) and Chaz Stewart (acoustic, electric and bass guitars).

The recording evokes a sense of joy in the music -- you can tell the singers feel the words they're singing; they're not merely reciting memorized text. Sure, it's in Gaelic, but I didn't find the language barrier to be a problem because their passion was so evident and their enunciation so clear. Of course, it helps that the lyrics -- both the Gaelic and the English translation -- await in the comprehensive insert booklet.

The vocals are uniformly gorgeous and expressive. The musicians, while serving as background in some tracks and sitting out others (waulking songs are often sung a cappella), prove their mettle in various instrumental tracks and song interludes. These aren't second-stringers biding their time as a backup band; they're capable performers who've chosen to add their strength to a primarily vocal band. It adds together for a great package.

I mentioned in my Gaelic Roots review that Cliar's performance evoked Scottish memories more strongly than most music has done for me in the past. Happily, the same is true of the band's debut album, and I recommend it highly.