Anam Cara SPIRIT OF UNICORN MUSIC
Wakeman Jr loses himself on the Emerald Isle.
With his 11th album, and first solely under his own name in 19 years, Oliver Wakeman swaps prog for a celtic sojourn. Anam Cara is a Gaelic phrase that means ‘soul friend’, someone who is a lifelong mentor, guide, and source of support, and Wakeman has assembled an admirable line-up of musicians to join him on his latest endeavour.
Hayley Griffiths handles leads vocals and is no stranger to this sort of fare, having sung in the Riverdance stage show and released her own albums in this vein with 2011’s Celtic Rose and 2022’s Far From Here. Her range and control remain as impressive as they’ve ever been, and she brings passion and drama to the material. Nightwish’s Troy Donockley is most modern prog musicians’ first call for anyone seeking celtic pipes and whistles, so he’s a natural fit for this project and features prominently throughout.
There’s no faulting the performances or playing, but the album suffers from being overburdened with ballads. Seven of the 10 tracks are overwrought love songs, like The View From Here and Here In My Heart. Far too much of the material is cut from the same cloth and it starts to feel repetitive, both musically and lyrically. There are only so many times Griffiths can pour out her heart into a tune about missing an absent loved one before it loses its emotional potency.
As much as Wakeman seeks to tap into a celtic rock sound, he never really touches upon the tradition of Irish music made for dancing. There�
