This one took a little research to figure out.

I mean, not the music, obviously -- the music is great. But trying to figure out the origins of this singer and this album took a little legwork.

Nolween Leroy, aka Nolwenn Le Magueresse, is a native of Brittany and a French singer who, at least on this album, interprets Celtic songs. She has been active for about 20 years now; this album, the eponymous Nolwenn, was released in 2013 and bears no resemblance to the self-titled album Nolwenn that she released in 2003.

Her website didn't help me much, because it's in French.

But the Google helped point me to some solid information. Nolwenn first earned the public's attention in 2002, when she competed on (and won) the second season of Star Academy, a French reality TV show in the same vein as American Idol and The Voice. The next year, she released Nolwenn, her first album, which quickly went platinum and launched her first solo European tour.

That Nolwenn is not this Nolwenn.

She released a couple more albums before producing Bretonne, her fourth studio recording, in 2010. In 2013, the album was renamed Nolwenn and released in the United States, with some tracks dropped and others added.

So, to be clear, 2013's Nolwenn is not at all like 2003's Nolwenn but is very similar, but not identical, to 2010's Bretonne. Got it?

This album (the 2013 one, in case you weren't paying attention) was arranged by Jon Kelly, a British audio engineer and record producer who has worked with the likes of Kate Bush, Chris Rea, Fish, Mickey Joe Harte and Tori Amos. It's lush and heavily pop-inflected but draws on Celtic roots for much of its foundation.

Tracks include Mike Oldfield's "Moonlight Shadow" and Ewan McColl's "Dirty Old Town," traditionals "Scarborough Fair," "Amazing Grace," "Whiskey in the Jar," "Siuil a Ruin" and "Greensleeves," and a few other, more obscure (to my ears, anyway) songs. Guest artists include Ciara Newell on backing vocals, Mike McGoldrick on flute and Irish bagpipes, Ruth Wall on harp and John McCusker on fiddle, among others.

Most of the songs are in English, although one is in Gaelic and a few are in the Breton language, the Celtic variant still spoken in the French region of Brittany.

It's lovely and soothing, more pop than traditional in style but still very enjoyable. I'm glad this French singer found an audience over the sea.

[ visit Nolwenn Leroy online ]