Round the House's album 'Till the Wee Hours contains 15 pieces and a very long bonus track. The quartet from Tucson, Arizona, has won regional awards for their music and are all active members of the Tucson area Irish and traditional music scenes. All of the songs are traditional, as are many of the instrumental pieces.

The musicians sound like they are having a fantastic time playing and their genuine love of their music shows. From the sound of their recording, they would be great to see live. The four musicians are Dave Firestine (mandolin, bouzouki, banjo, bodhran, vocals, guitars), Sharon Goldwasser (fiddle, mandolin), Mike Smith (guitars) and Claire Jamison Zucker (vocals, bodhran, percussive dance).

The group focuses heavily on traditional pieces. Much of the music has been taken from previous recordings by other artists, although a few have been re-arranged. The songs include "Spanish Lady," "Spancil Hill," "Willy Taylor" and "Irish Molly O" in English and "Casadh Cam na Feadarnai" and "A Stor Mo Chroi" in Gaelic, sung by Zucker. Though she technically has a very nice voice, she sounds a bit tinny to my ear. "The Bodhran Song," sung by Firestine, is either really funny or a bit twisted, depending on how you feel about bodhrans and goats. With lyrics from the point of view of a young goat hoping to grow up to be a bodhran, the song extols the virtues of goats over donkeys or cats as bodhran material and also mentions that the goat's parents aren't terribly happy with the idea. There is a bonus track included after an absurdly long gap after the final song.

Round the House does a wonderful job playing traditional music and does it with a great deal of energy, fun and talent.

- Rambles
written by Jean Emma Price
published 24 January 2004