Harvest Storm

The word Altan means a "stream," but "raging river" might better describe the career of this band. Harvest Storm was a watershed album, offering a solid mix of forward-looking idealism while holding fast to tradition. It earned the group numerous awards, and paired with Island Angel, may be the best work they'll ever produce. They pay close attention to their Northern roots here. Songs like the title track and "Pretty Peg" attain high energy while the closing track, "Dobbin's Flowery Vale," remembers the power of the sad, subtle ballad. There's no lack of history to their vision, and no lack of interest in the new sounds of Celtic music, but they were still staying above the coming tide of synthesized swoosh that defines Celtic music in the '90s. --Louis Gibson