An Expansive Canvas Knowing No Limit

Canvas by Natalie Macmaster and Donnell Leahy acts as a revival of Irish folk rock infused with hints of country and honky-tonk. This album, mostly stripped of vocals, praises the expansiveness of instrumentation and beholds an uncanny ability to explore the multiplicity of genre and sound, knowing no limit.

The diversity of this album is remarkable. The smooth legato tones of “So You Love” ornamented with legend Yo Yo Ma’s skills as a cellist offer a soft, whimsical melody and combine both Gaelic and European styles. With the slower pace of the opening comes a building of tension, moving up the scales into a soundscape of aggressive strings, collapsing into a smooth finish and a light diminuendo. This song encompasses the album as a whole, full of top-class musicality and unpredictable turns.

“Choo Choo,” on the other hand, leaves a very different impression. The inclusion of Mary Frances Leahy’s banjo gives a more folky, honky-tonk feel to the album, emphasized by fiddle solos and the playful country feeling melody. This song, as well as songs such as “Woman of the House” exhibit the diversity of the album, expanding the Irish folk feel into many other genres.

“The Case of the Mysterious Squabbyquash” likewise demonstrates this through an angry rock feel and the epitome of the Irish rock-folk fusion. The tension of the wailing electric guitar, accompanied by the same violin soundscapes, stands outside the box of genre and offers a free form of musical expression.

This album as a whole fights against the limits of genre. The lack of vocals allow the free exploration of music as a concept rather than the confinement of genre. Through rock-style guitar solos, folkish recorder inclusions, a constant medley of fiddles or country-sounding guitar riffs and melodies, Macmaster and Leahy’s Canvas breaks down the boundaries of genre and sound.