Lilt present a very appealing ramble through the tune list of their lives on their album Onward. Tina Eck and Keith Carr seek to impersonate the very definition of their name and succeed on an album that holds true to the tradition. It is an honest and rewarding recording of the traditional Irish music that has formed their musical lives over the last decade or so. Endless nights in the pubs and clubs of Washington DC, where the duo met have paid off. With Tina on flute and Keith on bouzouki they found a natural partnership in their respective playing styles and their natural approach to the music shines through.

Launching The Boat/The Pipers Despair is a good old fashioned set of reels familiar to many, delivered in a clear and uncomplicated arrangement. In fact the whole album has this feel to it, making their music an honest representation of how this music should be played and enjoyed. Throughout the album they moderate the tempo nicely and introduce other instruments as required. This ads to the overall sound.

Hanley's Tweed/Considine's Grove starts with fiddle and bouzouki and builds nicely with Tina joining on flute, then taking the lead for a number of bars before the trio conclude a great set. As the album progresses it draws you in and the music does indeed have that oh so important lilt. Keith also surprises with a banjo and bodhran duet called The Trip To Miriam's/Major Harrison's Fedora that works very well. They close the album out with an air and some reels titled Michael O' Connors 2nd Air/Rolling in the Barrel/The Tap Room that gathers pace to a very fruitful conclusion to the album.

Lilt state that they love and try to capture the essentials of Irish traditional music, boundless energy, wildness and melancholy. They have done just that, all enclosed in a very tasteful CD cover that reminds me of Shanachie albums of old.