These, alongside a pair of reels composed by Altan's most recent arrival, Martin Tourish on piano accordion, signal the band's appetite for evolution of the musical and familial kind.

It received a warm review and 4 stars (out of 5) on 9 March 2018 from The Irish Times's music critic Siobhan Long, stating: "[Altan's] duelling fiddle sound is no longer a feature since Ciarán Tourish's departure, but The Gap of Dreams is a beautifully realised collection of new and traditional tunes rooted in their home place of Donegal.

With The Gap Of Dreams, though, they've dug deeper, fashioning an album that reeks of history and of simpler times, when music and dancing were the glue that held rural communities together; real (and reel) channels of respite from hard living.

Ní Mhaonaigh's vocals are as beguiling as ever, particularly on the wistful "The Month Of January", while "Cumha an Oileáin" is a timely reminder of the beauty of the Irish language, and "An Bealach Seo 'Tá Romham" boasts a welcome appearance by Moya Brennan.

"[7] The Living Tradition's music critic Alex Monaghan stated that despite "a few line-up changes since [he] last reviewed an Altan album—most notably the replacement of Dermot Byrne by Martin Tourish on accordion, and the departure of founder member Ciaran Tourish on fiddle which does leave the instrumentals weaker—Donegal's premier traditional band is still going strong [as] the basic formula still works: tunes and songs with a strong Donegal flavour, a mix of old and new, with a contemporary acoustic edge to the arrangements.» Monaghan enjoyed the new album, in particular tracks such as "Cumha An Oileáin", «sweetly sung despite the sad words, and set to a beautiful tune [...] or « the chilling "Month Of January" [which] sends a shiver down [his] spine,» adding that «[his] favourite track is a medley [track #10] which expresses the music of Donegal as performed by Altan since their inception, with fiddle and bouzouki, a clear full sound ending with "The Mermaid Of Mullaghmore" which would be at home on any Altan album since the original [1983] Ceol Aduaidh back in the mists of time.