Having firmly established herself as one of the best traditional Irish singers with the group Solas, her solo albums (this is her third) have drawn their songs from a wider range of material. ‘Distant Shore’ highlights this diversity and it features a mixture of songs from some of the best contemporary artists such as Billy Bragg and Tim O’Brien, a couple of traditional numbers and one of her own songs; and rather than sounding like a traditional disc, it has a contemporary singer/songwriter feel but with a subtle Celtic edge.
Regardless of the quality and breadth of the material chosen for the album, the most striking and memorable aspect of any Karan Casey disc is her vocals – she has a pure and smooth voice, but is an understated singer who conveys emotion through phrasing and inflection, it’s outstanding on all 11 tracks.
Not only is she a good interpreter of songs, but she’s also a good at picking her material, Billy Bragg’s ‘Distant Shore’ (an immigrants tale of longing for home) through to Tim O’Brien & Darrell Scott’s ‘Another Day’ come from totally different musical styles but sit together perfectly as the two opening songs, and this musical variety continues throughout.
The highlight of the disc is the stunning ‘The Song of Lies’, piano and fiddle provide the simple backing for one of the best vocal performances you could wish to hear – it’s a beautiful song and the singing is so smooth and fluid the four minutes dreamily float by.
The instrumentation throughout the disc is varied, almost exclusively acoustic and always perfect for the mood of the song, and with the guest including Tim O’Brien, Dirk Powell and Karen Matheson, it’s no more than you’d expect.
‘Distant Shore’ is an excellent album, Karan is a good interpreter of songs, and the variety of material and the slightly less trad feel is likely to bring her to a wider audience. Recommended.

£13.49