AENGUS FINNAN North Wind (Shelter Valley/Borealis) Rating: NNN Rating: NNN
Dublin-born Aengus Finnan’s second album, North Wind, sounds like the smell of burning leaves in autumn. It’s a mixed bag of folk, from the traditional stompy boot chant Swing Boys Swing and the haunting elegy O’Shaughnessy’s Lament to the twangy Orphan Hand. Solid tunes, all of them. Finnan has a laid-back, earthy delivery that adapts easily to rollicking Celtic rhythms and smouldering bluesy tunes, and his roots prove him to be truly Canadian. In the liner notes, Finnan gives the cross-country context behind each ditty, including a dedication to Peter Gzowski before the a cappella One Hand On The Radio. Aengus Finan plays Hugh’s Room Friday (October 4).
