The band that played on the Titanic -- at least in the movie version of the tale -- has managed to build on that invaluable exposure. While there is some traditional music on here, perfectly competently played, although with a somewhat uninspired sound, the real focus is on their own material. They touch on themes that seem endemic to the Irish -- homesickness and drinking, for the most part -- in a musical blend that takes ideas from the tradition and mixes them with generally uptempo acoustic rock that's never offensive (unlike, say,
the Pogues). The problem, of course, is that there are so many bands that have done this kind of thing that anyone attempting it needs something special to stand out. And besides their name recognition, there's little in the writing and playing here to separate
Gaelic Storm from the herd.