Dublin’s Susan McKeown made a name for herself in traditional circles with her stunningly original traditional Irish album Bushes and Briars. Her arresting, moody voice and spot-on harmonies were noticed by Natalie Merchant, who brought Susan on board for touring, recording (Merchant’s recent Live album), and an appearance on PBS-TV’s Sessions at West 54th.

Lowlands, Susan’s Green Linnet debut, is a beautiful, textured followup to Bushes, again mixing traditional songs in both the Irish and English languages with a variety of exotic but subtle world music arrangements. The musicians she’s recruited include premier artists from America, Scotland, India, Africa and China, including Glen Moore (Oregon), Johnny Cunningham, Lúnasa, Joanie Madden, Matt Darriau, Samir Chatterjee, Wang Guowei, and Mamadou Diabate. A powerful album from start to finish.