“Listening to The Haar do “Wild Rover” for the first time, well, it gave me the chills. Chills. The careful whisper of singer Molly Donnery’s voice paired with a simple instrumentation as the song progresses…well…you have to hear it to experience the magic. The song itself is well-worn territory, so it’s always hard to bring something fresh to it, and yet…they certainly did.
This is but one example of the extraordinary talent this group has among its members. Donnery’s voice is beautiful, and the other three band members Cormac Byrne, Adam Summerhayes, and Murray Grainger all have pretty serious backgrounds in their chosen instrument. The thing is—despite the fact that these people can really sing and play—big time—isn’t the entire draw here. The real star is the way the group coaxes out the sounds rather than laying them bare. Spectacular stuff. There’s something wonderful that happens when musicians know the rules well enough to let go of the wheel and let the muse move them.