Solas’ folk album rich in Irish culture

Solas

Saturday, March 5

7:30… Solas

Saturday, March 5

7:30 p.m.

Carnegie Lecture Hall

$35 (advance), $40 (door), $20 (student rush)

proartstickets.org

The Turning Tide

Compass Records

Rocks Like: An Irish version of Lady Antebellum

B+

In a culture where top-10 songs on the radio typically consist of computer-generated beats and melodies, Solas offers a refreshing twist to the monotony, with an array of instruments that create a rich folk sound.

With just weeks until St. Patrick’s Day, Irish folk band Solas has released its new album, The Turning Tide, after 14 years as a band. The group follows its 2008 album For Love and Laughter with the new release.

The band uses nine different instruments and a female vocalist on its albums, providing the audience with a traditional Irish sound. But Solas puts a modern twist on their music, producing an album that could easily transcend the playlists of more contemporary listeners.

Many tracks on both For Love and Laughter and The Turning Tide emulate the traditional Irish genre that Solas promotes, but there are clear hints toward other more mainstream genres, like country and jazz.

“Hugo’s Big Reel,” the opening track on The Turning Tide, starts the album with an instrumental piece that effectively demonstrates Solas’ diverse use of instruments through a more traditional piece of Irish folk music. Other tracks, such as “The Crows of Killimer/Box Reel #2/Boys of Malin/The Reel House,” also portray the genre strongly.

The Turning Tide continues with “Girl in the War,” a beautiful ballad that emulates Solas’ contemporary fusions and sounds similar to some popular country songs.

Mairead Phelan, the band’s vocalist, asserts her presence without overpowering the rest of the band and she acts as a vital component to Solas’ Irish-folk genre because of her soft voice that complements the instruments.

Multiple songs on the album do not contain vocals, helping to accentuate the talent the musicians have with their respective instruments. Seamus Egan, Winifred Horan, Mick McAuley and Eamon McElholm contribute to the various layers in the music, displaying the dynamic aspects Solas embodies.

For those without an Irish heritage or a general appreciation for folk music, Solas might not make the cut. The Turning Tide reaches those who take pride in Irish culture, but others might find the traditional sound and lyrics too stereotypically Irish.

Solas is performing at the Carnegie Lecture Hall this Saturday with opening act Corned Beef & Curry. Calliope: The Pittsburgh Folk Music Society presents the show in an attempt to relay its mission to protect traditional and contemporary folk music.