Half Tail, Wolfstone’s followup to their breakthrough Year of the Dog, essentially repeats the formula of its predecessor, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Wolfstone energizes their Celtic roots with impassioned rock energy, much like how the Waterboys reshaped Celtic music for their Fisherman’s Blues and Room to Roam albums. However, unlike the Waterboys or Black 47, Wolfstone don’t abandon Celtic for rock — they just channel that anthemic passion back into their folk. Half Tail isn’t as consistently enthralling as Year of the Dog but that’s only a relative judgment. On its own terms, it’s stellar. – Thom Owens