"The Road Back Home" - Loreena Mckennit Review
Written by Esosa Zuwa
Grammy-nominated singer, Loreena McKennit unveils her new album “The Road Back Home”, amid her string discography. With a mystical-sounding Celtic folk album, “The Road Back Home” transfers listeners to a fuzzy yet strong sonic landscape that makes you feel like looking at the Highlands.
The album opens up with an English folk song “Searching For Lambs” translated to a Celtic gait. It’s a dramatic and dark-sounding piece, with an air of mysticism with an accordion and deep strings. With melodic simplicity, it’s an ambient piece with an air of mysteriousness that feels like walking into a heavy fog. “What makes your rise so soon, my dear?/Your journey to pursue?/Your pretty little feet that tread so neat/Strike off the morning dew,” the lyrics say, almost inviting you into this deep trance. Inspired by a book on traditional English music, it was a simple song about two individuals who have fond feelings for themselves in a rural setting.
“Bonny Portmore” is a piece that urges us to connect with nature. Paired with a light harp and a flute, it brings together a soft, mystical voice that feels airy. It feels like looking out into a highland, and fae flying around a forest. The song is concerned with a very significant tree over Portmore, Ireland. There’s a connection to the natural world and its habitat. The Celts had a big passion for trees, and their alphabet was based on the different qualities of trees.
“Greystones” is an instrumental piece, that sounds contemporary with a guitar and flute in the foreground. It feels like being fully content, and rediscovering who you were and who you want to be. It’s about getting back to your old roots and finding the spark that made you want to start. The singer says she walked across Greystones in the old days in Ireland, and it’s an ultimate nod towards the past.
“The Star Of The County Down” has lyrics “From Bantry Bay up to Derry Quay, From Gallaway to Dublin town/No maid I’ve seen like the fair Colleen/That I met in in the County Down” that match well with a journeying drum-beat on a way to meet a girl. It’s about finding someone, a star and a gem in your eyes, and pursuing them. It’s about wanting to impress her and not finding anyone like her in Ireland.
The album ends with “Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór”. With a soft harp and flute, it incorporates a choral sound that sounds grand and ending. Sung with Canadian singer-songwriter, James Keelaghan, it contrasts the light airy sound and also incorporates the cello. It’s a slow song that feels like a conclusion full of hope. It’s about going together with someone you love, enjoying their presence, and bringing them to a place of peace and beauty. It’s a traditional Irish tune, which partially means “fairy mound”.
The Road Back Home is a vibrant and nostalgic, live Celtic album. With a new-age undertone, it’s more substantial, with a great backing band carrying the traditional pieces, with vibrant vocal delivery. It’s cozy, warm, and it’s atmospheric, and the live setting brings a new air of authenticity and vitality. It’s a misty, Celtic world.
