Anthem

Ronan Hardiman first gained renown as the composer for Michael Flatley's Irish dance extravaganzas, Lord of the Dance and Feet of Flames. On Anthem, his second solo release, he moves away from the relentlessly rhythmic music of his Flatley collaborations, in favor of a looser, more atmospheric style of composing and performing. Hardiman's sweeping synthesizer tones on tracks such as "Ready for Life" recall the ethereal music of Enya while his use of Latin chants on "Salve" sound like a less spooky version of Enigma. Hardiman has a gift for writing great hooks, which give songs like "That Place in Your Heart" and "Heaven (Waiting for Me There)" an unexpected, but enjoyable pop sheen. The songs on Anthem are not explicitly Irish, but Hardiman's strong melodic sense and mystical leanings imbue them with an irresistible Celtic character. --Michael Simmons