Decade

While there's nothing new on this album, culled from five previous Dervish outings, it does act as both an excellent introduction to one of Ireland's best bands, and also a way of closing the chapter on the first ten years of the group's existence. The music, all traditional except for "The Hungry Rock" and "The World's End," dances gloriously, with sparkling instrumental work and some superb singing by the criminally underrated Cathy Jordan. Although they've honed their style across a decade, it's easy to see that they started out fully formed, with strong ideas and antecedents, aspiring to high ideals like Planxty and the Bothy Band and certainly scaling such heights. There might not be a Donal Lunny or Andy Irvine in the band, but this isn't a group of individual stars — they're much stronger as a unit, where they can work off each other. So while longtime fans won't find this a necessary purchase, newcomers will discover a treasure trove of traditional Irish music here.