It's been a while since I've spent much quality time with Solas. But when a recent excursion presented me with many long hours of driving, Solas seemed a natural choice to help pass the time on my car's stereo.

Solas is often compared to Dervish -- and there's no way to take that badly, since Dervish is one of the hottest Irish bands on the circuit. But neither should Solas be written off as a Dervish clone; while there are similarities in style and talent, Solas stands firmly on its own as an excellent band.

While Dervish perfects and expands on Irish traditions, Solas wanders a little further afield, drawing on some mainland stylings which, to my ear, sound faintly Galician. Solas also has added the banjo to its instrumental mix and, while I'm anti-banjo on general principles, I'll concede that some Irish bands have integrated it well into their sound. Solas, with Seamus Egan handling the banjo, is one of them.

Solas is Egan on concert flute, banjo, low whistle, tin whistle, mandolin, guitar, bodhran and percussion, John Doyle on guitars, mandocello and vocals, Winifred Horan on fiddles and John Williams on button accordion and concertina. John Anthony joins them on this album with a variety of percussion. Combined, they make up a talented bunch of instrumentalists who can easily hold their own in Irish music circles. Peak moments include the lively, well-balanced reel set "The Big Reel of Ballynacally/The High Hill/Flash Away the Pressing Gang," the frantic pace of "Paddy Taylor's/McFadden's Handsome Daughter/The Narrowback/Frank's Reel/Esther's Reel," the mellow, nigh-symphonic air of "Song of the Kelpie" and the jovial "Mom's Jig/Bill Nicholson's 67th."

Add Karan Casey to the mix, and you surely have a musical force to be rated among the top of its class. Casey handles the band's vocals with grand skill, shifting easily between the driving, intense interpretation of "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" to the sweet, crystal clear "The Unquiet Grave." She sings equally well in Gaelic, as demonstrated in "Aililiu Na Gamhna."

Solas released several excellent albums before Casey sadly decided to leave the band. Sunny Spells & Scattered Showers is a good place to start your collection.