Blackbird & Crow - Ailm (Deluxe Version) (2020)

Ailm is the mesmerising second album by Donegal duo Maighréad Ní Ghrásta and Stephen John Doohan, the title for which refers to the letter in Ogham. Ogham is an Early Medieval Irish alphabet and Ailm is the twentieth letter which represents conifer which, in turn, is associated with healing. Founded on a search for healing, it combines Irish folklore, blues, psychedelia and Americana in a work of melodically intense and powerful gothic noir that might be described as Celtic Nick Cave or Wovenhand, steeped in darkness and populated by the souls of the lost.

Maighréad’s vocals are, for the most part, delivered, almost declamatory style, in a heady Gaelic accent with Stephen’s guitar work, often using slide, calls the rawness of White Stripes to mind, complemented by keyboards that shift from maelstroms to quiet eddies, their work augmented by contributions on violin, cello, drums, trumpet, sax, Uillean pipes and low whistle.