Album Review: Mischievous Eyes

Mischievous Eyes captures Sionna’s ability to deeply emote and thoroughly entertain – there’s wit, warmth, and a clear sense that they take the music – but not themselves – too seriously. Featuring session-style vocals, expressive fiddle, and deft accompaniment on bouzouki and guitar, this is a debut album to celebrate.

One of the album’s strengths lies in its song selection – particularly the inclusion of some lesser-known pieces that suit the duo exceptionally well. The album opens with Saltwater Kisses / Everybody Loves A Lover: jangly guitar, jaunty whistling, and playful, dancing fiddle. It’s bright, cheeky, and full of tight harmonies, with a key change that tips into theatricality and a delightful quodlibet to close – “I love everybody since I fell in love with you.” There’s a bit of silliness in the performance that just makes you happy. It sets the tone for a fun, unpretentious album.

Winding Way Down To Kells Bay, a beautiful, heartfelt ode by Irish songwriter Emma Langford, is treated with a considerate, lush acoustic arrangement. From there, traditional jigs Tell Her I Am / Gallagher’s Frolics are played with delicacy and heart. 

Less statement, more homage – the mix feels intentionally live. The kind of performance you’d happily lose an evening to in a good pub. That immediacy is part of its charm.

The Fox, a traditional folk song dating back to a 15th-century Middle English poem, is full of small musical surprises: moments of homorhythmic clarity, well-placed caesura, and even a brief, unexpected harmonic sidequest. It’s intentional, but still playful.

Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears, written by Brendan Graham, sits as one of the emotional anchors of the album. Telling the story of Annie Moore, the first Irish immigrant to pass through Ellis Island, it carries particular poignancy – especially in the chorus – for the Irish diaspora. It’s moving to hear it performed by those who empathise.

The title track, Mischievous Eyes, is an original duet – trading verses and coming together in the choruses. It’s a love story for the ages, simple and sincere: “And if I never see your face again, I’ll always remember your smile.”

Irish instrumental energy arrives in full with the polka medley Didi Cronin’s / Toureendarby / The Munster Bank, before Pad The Road takes a gentle detour to Scotland. What unfolds is a courtship song, with verses traded back and forth until the duo come together both narratively and vocally at the end. It’s genuinely adorable.

Keys of Canterbury continues that narrative play – this time in stark contrast. He entreats, she refuses, again and again, until a sincere promise in the bridge shifts something. “I will not” becomes “I will,” and the turn lands both musically and emotionally.

Chasing Cars (originally by Snow Patrol) brings things briefly into the modern era, featuring a lyrical violin interlude and gradual build that feels designed for a live audience.

The album closes with Catharsis / Tam Lin – reel energy off the charts (pun intended). There’s a percussive drive to the performance that pushes everything forward – it’s tight, alive, and a final reminder of their instrumental chemistry.

Mischievous Eyes feels like something shared, not overworked – full of heart, craft, and just enough mischief.