Breaking the Habit, Joanna McMeikan, Mithranda Music 2004

Haunting might be the best way to describe this
release by Joanna McMeikan. Although she does not
promote herself as a Celtic artist, I guess she cannot help it with a name like McMeikan. She has the drama of Celtic music and has written songs to back it up (she wrote all the songs except for two that she co-wrote.)
There is a taste of jazz, rock, and electronica here, but McMeikan's voice has the timbre and style that will remind you of singers like Loreena McKennit. Her lyrics are above the ordinary, also. An example is the ones that begin the CD on 'Again': "The dogs are howling/Betrayal in the night/But's who's the howler/And who is taking flight?"  The songs are anchored by Meikan's piano, but her production (with Mario Maisonnave) adds many sympathetic effects, including electric guitar, string arrangements, and backing vocals with her own voice.  
The only song that does not come off here is Past Unconditional, where McMeikan recites many of the words instead of singing them. It seems gimmicky, as well as an unnecessary waste when she has such a beautiful singing voice. But all the others succeed in their mixture of well thought out production fronted by McMeikan's soaring voice. 
http://www.joannamcmeikan.com 

- Dave Howell