To push his music into the vocal realm, Seamus Egan has joined three musicians from the When Juniper Sleeps project--fiddler Winifred Horan, accordionist John Williams, and guitarist John Doyle--plus singer Karan Casey to form a band called Solas. Solas, produced by Silly Wizard's Johnny Cunningham, immediately marks this American quintet as a major force in Celtic music. The dance tunes combine rhythmic verve and melodic invention, and the songs give the instruments equal footing with the vocals. Egan's special gifts have never had a better setting. --Geoffrey Himes