Reviewed by Gavin Drake

Word have pulled all the punches in the promotion of this album - update letters during recording, 2 track promotional CD, colour postcard from Trinity College, Dublin.   The only thing Word failed to do was send Cross Rhythms the album until two months after it was released. But enough of such moaning. (Yes, enough. Ed) Is it worth all the effort? Well, this reviewer was a trifle disap­pointed considering the sheer brilliance of the team's debut. It may have something to do with The Book Of Kells' being such a value-for-money release! With a staggering 73 minutes of music on the CD it is a rather daunting listening experience with possibly two or maybe three too many ambient, billow­ing instrumentals to hold together with any kind of pro­gramming coherence. But still, there's plenty to delight the musical palate. For instance, the excellent guitar work by Dave Bainbridge, those eerie walls of synth sounds which are becoming their trademark, and most compelling of all the haunting vocals of Colleen Joanne Hogg. By now surely all our readers know this album was inspired by that most dazzling of histor­ical treasures The Book Of Kells. Reading back over this review, I feel I'm being a trifle mean-spirited. This still has much here which is emotively able to lift a jaded listener. For when all is said and done, lona are still a brilliant team of musicians

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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