Flook’s enchanting repertoire, while having a strong foundation based on the Celtic idiom, becomes even more defining with their originality, interpretive twists and artistic expression. Although the innovative band’s been together for about 25 years, this is their first album in 14. The quartet includes Brian Finnegan (flutes, whistles), Sarah Allen (flutes, accordion), Ed Boyd (guitars, bouzouki, piano) and John Joe Kelly (bodhrán).  They enlist a baker’s dozen stellar musical guests who provide colorings of hammered dulcimer, lap steel, steel drums, upright bass, fiddle, cello, viola, hurdy-gurdy, pandereta asturiana (a Spanish tambourine), theramin, and some other instruments to various tracks. A lot of creative work went into this highly-arranged project, and the result is an effervescent set of acoustic music, masterfully played with both spirit and emotion. 

Opening with Finnegan’s snappy “Reel for Rubik / Toward the Sun,” the album offers considerable variety and more meditative pieces like Sarah Allen’s "Companion Star” and Finnegan’s “Ellie Goes West.” The breezy flutes, often played in harmony, make people feel, happy, joyful, reflective or nostalgic. A musician has no higher calling in life than to make these kinds of impacts on their listeners, and one can’t help want to move to lilting jigs like “The Bunting Fund” and “Sharig.” “The Coral Castle” is a lyrical and fluid composition, and Finnegan’s “Ocean Child” establishes a contemporary groove with a good rhythmic beat. With theramin and additional percussion in the mix for the closer, “Ómós Sheamuis / The Quickenbeam,” Flook reinforces their individuality and puts an exclamation point on their intellectual state of musical mind.

As an album and documentation of their growth and maturity, Ancora takes its title from words spoken by Michelangelo at age 87, “Ancora imparo” (meaning “I am ever learning.”) Flook’s long-awaited album is a real treat for music lovers who enjoy highly original, flute-based Celtic music with a twist. (Joe Ross, Roots Music Report)