Releases > Releases December 2024

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MACDARA YEATES
Traditional Singing From Dublin
Own Label, 9 Tracks, 38 Minutes
https://macdarayeates.bandcamp.com/album/traditional-singing-from-dublin
Macdara Yeates is one of a crop of young artists associated with the recent resurgence of traditional singing in Dublin, alongside acts such as Lankum, Ye Vagabonds and Landless. In 2012, Macdara became a founding member of “The Night Before Larry Got Stretched”, a unique monthly singing session based in The Cobblestone pub, which has spawned some notable vocalists since its inception. From 2013 to 2017, Macdara was a member of the acclaimed traditional/folk band Skipper’s Alley, touring internationally.
This is his debut album under his own name, and he takes the opportunity to evoke the raw and unadorned beauty of solo ballad singing with minimal accompaniment from his guitar or bodhrán, or simply acapella. The tone is set on the opener Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya, a well-known anti-war song as relevant today as it ever was. His baritone voice is strong and assured, but unadorned with niceties, which just adds to the authenticity of his delivery.
Here, he has compiled a master list of those songs which have engaged him most, and they are presented with the care and attention associated with a true connoisseur of the fine art of balladry. Many of the tracks will be familiar with powerful renditions of classic songs such as The Shores Of Lough Bran and The Kerry Recruit. He includes a great version of the humorous Dublin ballad The Herrin’, and I was particularly drawn to ballads with beautifully sparse guitar accompaniment – One Starry Night is wonderfully atmospheric, and Boys From Home captures the sadness of the forced emigrant.
This recording is unashamedly sparse, raw and authentic, capturing the true spirit of the singing sessions which have become such a feature of Irish traditional music. Macdara Yeates can be proud of his initial offering, which is sure to enthral his many admirers.
Mark Lysaght

FIACH MORIARTY
Liberties
Own Label, 10 Tracks, 32 Minutes www.fiachmusic.com
Fiach Moriarty has already established himself as an impressive figure on the Irish music scene with some serious credits including collaborations with Paul Brady, Eddi Reader, and tours with Mary Black and Ray Davies, also recording and performing with a host of well-known artists, too numerous to mention. More recently, he has been a member of the acclaimed trad-fusion group ALDOC, and has recently joined the legendary Horslips. Liberties is his third solo album, and is an ambitious project telling the real-life story of his great-grand uncle Jack Kavanagh from Francis Street, Dublin, who fought in World War One.
He chronicles a period of great economic hardship where, for many young Irishmen, enlisting in the British Army provided an escape from the misery of poverty and unemployment. The songs are in chronological order and trace his relative’s journey to Gallipoli, where he witnesses the horrors of war at first hand. I’m For Gallipoli, already released as a single, features Damien Dempsey on shared vocals and Canadian singer Jenna Nicholls also appears on Long Lost Penpal, with lovely use of trumpet and ukulele.
There is clever use of style and instrumentation throughout, Fiach playing several instruments himself with some great guest musicians helping out as well. The subject matter is obviously deeply personal to Fiach, and he has taken great care to make the material authentic and true to the spirit of the times. We At Swim is a lovely melodic piece, The Recruit is a humorous ballad with some neat chordal twists, and perhaps the most poignant song, The Raven’s Wing, details the reality of the soldier’s lot.
The album really captures the reality of the life and times of an Army recruit during the First World War, and Fiach has fully achieved his artistic goal on this fine recording.
Mark Lysaght

ERLEND VIKEN TRIO
Ville Veier
Heilo, 9 Tracks, 43 Minutes
www.facebook.com/erlendvikentrio
The Erlend Viken trio are: Erlend Viken (fiddle and hardanger fiddle), Marius Graff (electric guitar and banjo) and Sondre Meisfjord (double bass). This is a follow on from their Fete Slåtta, which was nominated for the Spellemann Awards (Norwegian Grammy) in 2023.
The cover of the album shows an urban street corner, taped off for safety’s sake, a nearby traffic light has been knocked sideways. Google translates the album title as “wild ways”; is this an oblique reference to an intersection where the once strict rules have been temporarily suspended? Perhaps, because, Ville Veier is something of a departure for Erlend, whose work has been previously characterised by meticulous orchestration. Here there’s more freedom, more collaboration, more conversations between the players.
The majority of the tracks are newly composed with just two being traditional Norwegian tunes, although Erlend is well grounded in the traditional music of the country. A famous Norwegian dance form is the Halling, an energetic traditional male dance, here the trio play Meisfjord’s new composition Roadsterbassgangarhalling. They were exposed to our kind of music at Celtic Connections, which inspired Erlend to write Road from Glasgow. I wondered if their track Mingus Lullaby was a nod to the famous jazz bass player, but no, it’s named for a puppy that slept during band rehearsals.
Two of the tracks feature vocals from Synnøve Brøndbo Plassen. Her contribution on Bogata Blues is to add a high pitched harmony, it’s a kind of jazz scat singing. This effective device is repeated on the ballad Springar Etter Gottfried, Synnøve’s voice sitting over a minimal bass line. It reminded me melodically of the Coventry Carol. Track 9, Byrsevegen is the most accessible and I could see this being adopted by folk fiddlers across the northern hemisphere.
The overall feel of the album is one of gentle experimentation, the trio conjuring up soundscapes that are both intriguing and beguiling.
Seán Laffey

MICHAEL PETER FLYNN
Coragh County Leitrim 1928
Own Label, 14 Tracks, 49 Minutes
www.michaelpeterflynn.com
The frontman and co-founder (with the late Pat Collins) of the Café Orchestra is back with a concept album exploring connections to home. Inspired by a short memoir written by Michael’s father shortly before he died, the album captures the essence of his life, through his eyes.
Flynn tells his family story through music and song; it is a familiar tale we all know so well; of exile from the county of his forefathers, of internal displacement, emigration, scattered family overseas. At its core is the enduring love his father found in Dublin with his mother, who was a skilled dressmaker, often called upon to stitch together dresses for glamorous film stars and politicians’ wives.
The album begins traditionally enough with two sets of tunes played on the piano-accordion, Logan’s Field and The Master’s Cane. Before you settle into thinking this might be another sepia toned journey to school across the fields, Flynn’s razor sharp writing kicks in. There’s a marked musical shift into a world of rock on Wash Me Clean, a funk groove carries the narrative of The Tricker in Galder and by the time we reach The First Loy we are cutting turf on a riff that wouldn’t be out of place in a Mission Impossible movie. The Blue Egg takes a continental turn as if his parents’ romantic relationship was pure Fabergé.
In short, Michael P Flynn has taken an old story and morphed it into a modern muse, employing contemporary musical tropes to reveal a true tale that begins when a cock crows in Logan’s Field on the first track and eases its way into his own future on Prayer For Nancy, a sad end note in honour of his mother.
Echoing the craft of his mother, Michael P Flynn makes his masterpiece from the textiles of his father’s memory. This is bespoke couture.
Seán Laffey

STEVE KNIGHTLEY
The Winter Yards
Hands On Music HMCD054, 12 Tracks, 43 Minutes
www.steveknightley.com
For decades Steve Knightley was one half of the duo Show Of Hands, a fiddle, guitar and mandola combo that brought thoughtful, often acerbic songs to hundreds of folk clubs and festivals in the UK and beyond. It is obvious that when Show Of Hands finally called it a day, Knightley was anything but finished, and The Winter Yards hands us this in spades.
Knightley is joined by his Show of Hands’ pal Phil Beer and a talented ensemble of Philip Henry, Mark Tucker and Matt Clifford, notably the tabla player Johnny Kalsi, vocal duo True Foxes, The Lost Sound and the Madrid based band Track Dogs.
The opening track is a comment on Britain’s systemic failing of people, whether they be immigrants, the elderly or post-masters (if you haven’t read about the Post Office scandal, be prepared to get angry at corporate cover ups, and a cultural belief that flawed technology is perfect and employees are on the take).
The title of the album is found inside his song The Rides, a lament for the winter laying up of fit-up fairgrounds, a metaphor for the slow death of traditional ways of life. There’s a summer contrast on Maria (Recuerdos) with Track Dogs adding a burst of Latin sunshine. Knightley is in perfect sync as he plays the Chilean cuatro (tuned ADF#B) and incidentally he has an immersive tutorial on the instrument on his Facebook page.
Irish listeners will resonate with Requiem. Written to the tune of the Parting Glass, it’s a live recording with harmony backing form True Foxes. This is followed by the bluesy I’ll Never Forgive You (there’s paradoxical twist in the narrative, it’s very clever). There is an English Folk rock diversion on the Mermaid, a happy wedding anthem, pairing the fiddle and a national steel guitar. More of that twangy six-string on If You Ever Come Back, which has been compared to Springsteen’s Nebraska vibe.
The album closes with Transactions. Like many of Knightley’s songs, it is a 20/20 observation on where we sit in the maelstrom of modern life. In this instance he exposes the power of the press to shape opinion at the expense of our concerns.
Musically rich, sonically varied, impeccably produced, Knightley is still arguably the major songwriter of his, and many other English generations. Critically he has never succumbed to the mediocrity of a national treasure. Knightley hones and revels in that uncomfortable sharp edge we need in folk music.
Seán Laffey

LIZ SIMMONS
Wander Free
Own Label, Single 3 Minutes, 30 Seconds www.lizsimmons.net
Liz Simmons is a free spirited poet and songwriter based in Vermont. Her Wander Free is a song that would find a welcome home at any Mass, and indeed, if you are looking for stirring music for your Church this Christmas time, then Wander Free might be the perfect song for the occasion. The Christmas story is, after all, about the displaced and the dispossessed, the vulnerable and weary travellers looking for an inn or a stable. Her song has a life affirming chorus:
I will falter, of that I am sure
I will wander and I will flow
I will find many ports in the storm
I will travel always with you
This works beautifully both on a secular and a spiritual level; her message is one of universal hope, something that we need today more than at any time this century. The song builds to a swelling crescendo with some stunning playing from Natalie Haas on cello and Scottish fiddler Louise Bichan. The online notes were unclear, but I presume it is Gabe Bradshaw’s wizardry on synth programming that is responsible for emulating uilleann pipes at the end of the track.
Wander Free is a magical song, delightful in its simplicity and a present to be unwrapped any time of the year.
Seán Laffey

SUNJAY
I’m Just Like You
Mighty Tight Records, 15 Tracks, 60 Minutes www.sunjay.tv
Sunjay Brain is a virtuoso guitarist from Derby, now living in the West Midlands of England. A prodigious talent from an early age, he was a finalist in the 2012 BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award. Now just tipping over into his thirties, his latest album is one of exemplary, effortless playing, with a stamp of authentic electric-blues imbuing the whole enterprise.
He has worked in musical theatre, playing the lead in a Buddy Holly-biog production, and his versatility has led to many comparisons, and reviews where he has been labelled with the phrase “… he plays like…” The title of the album references his sardonic reply “I’m just like you…” There are influences here for sure and a well-tuned ear for blues will detect Lightning Hopkins and shades of rockabilly, but taken as a whole, Sunjay’s is a singular talent.
Link of Chain begins as a solitary front-porch blues lick and picks up with a driving back beat, his voice pure Americana, the riff enhanced by a blues harp as he extemporises over Hammond keys. He delves into talking blues on Mail Order Mystics with the drum kit anchoring the groove. Up On The Lowdown, for me recalls some early Rolling Stones; his voice here is particularly strong on the lower register. He shifts into country flavoured blues on Don’t Call Me Stranger and Never Needed It More. His command of the idiom is superb; for example on a line from that second track: “If love is the meal for the hungry feel, call for the waiter”. Train Home reminded me of some of the work by Irish singer songwriter Billy O’Dwyer Bob with an additional dimension from the subtle backing of the Hammond organ.
The album ends on a song close to home, the late night life of a gigging musician, Leave the Light On, a perfect track to play on any Irish country radio show, acoustic guitar and uncluttered vocals, every line a killer phrase.
If you like your folk painted with a big blues brush, this album will surely become a favourite.
Seán Laffey

MIA KELLY
To Be Clear
Own Label, 10 Tracks, 30 Minutes www.miakellymusic.com
Mia Kelly is a young singer-songwriter from Quebec, Canada who writes and performs her material in both English and French. Musically, it’s a minimalist blend of folk, rock and blues influences, and she’s recently won two categories at the 2024 Canadian Folk Awards, building on the success of her debut album Garden Through The War.
Her vocals are deeply personal and engaging, drawing in the listener with carefully structured instrumentation, which leaves plenty of sonic space for the singer. Mia plays acoustic and electric guitars as well as piano, and for this album she enlisted a close-knit team – alongside producer Jim Bryson, who contributes additional instrumentation himself. There’s a very relaxed feel to the album, reflecting a young artist who feels at home with her songs and how to communicate them to her audience.
Si J’etais Franche (If I’m Honest) has been released as a single and has a nice backbeat – it’s probably the most commercial track and highlights her sultry voice with appealing harmonies – at times very reminiscent of Norah Jones to this listener. Elsewhere the album addresses more personal themes, some of which reflect her experiences when she took several months off to travel around and figure out her next steps before recording the album.
She’s a keen observer of humanity on songs like Lone Dog and Oleander, while she can assume another character effortlessly as on the opening track Bonefish Boys, which features a sneaky reggae-tinged backbeat. Her music is full of clever touches, reflecting someone who crafts her material carefully, aided by collaborators with real empathy for her songs. This is a highly accomplished follow-up to her award-winning debut, and here is a young composer of real ability with a lot to say. Her compelling vocal delivery is what distinguishes her from many of her peers.
Mark Lysaght

HANDS OF THE HERON
Quiet Light
Cuculi Records, 12 Tracks, 43 Minutes
www.handsoftheheron.bandcamp.com
The psych-folk trio Hands of the Heron is a long-running collaboration that has released four albums to date, the latest of which Quiet Light is subject to the IMM microscope. Hands of the Heron is a Bristol-based female trio of Bec Garthwaite, Beth Roberts, and Claire Vine, each of whom brings a signature songwriting style to the band. They move effortlessly between sparse choral folk and shimmering instrumental textures, with their interlocking vocal harmonies a constant thread running through the various hues of a series of dreamlike, mercurial folk songs.
Musically the backings are spare and echo the English folk revival of the 1960s, where the banjo and harmonium backing to Evergreen recalls Shirley and Dolly Collins traditional song accompaniments. While the guitars are dexterous and melodic, always acting as a background to the vocal leads on Picturing Myself, the effect is gentle and dreamlike. Their vocal harmonies have a shimmering, almost transparent aura that floats between traditional and contemporary folk styles with a welcome reserve. Vocally, echoes of the Staves and the Incredible String Band, especially the work of Licorice McKechnie and Rose Smith in their late 60s /early 70s halcyon days creep through. The effect is neither insipid nor twee, their individuality serves the songs rather than vice versa. This achieves a worthy balance centred on the tension expressed between self-sufficiency and connection with others.
Their practical approach extends to their adoption of a DIY ethos. To their credit, the band founded Cuculi Records together as a DIY space to release their own albums and music by friends and collaborators from the grassroots alt-folk community. Quiet Light offers a celestial dreamscape for any willing ears to join their already considerable following.
John O’Regan

EVE GOODMAN
Summer Sun, Winter Trees
9 Tracks, 41 Minutes
www.evegoodman.co.uk
Eve Goodman is a singer songwriter from North Wales, who sings in English and Welsh, yet on this album she chooses the latter language to make her songs. They are so deeply personal, that it is a privilege to hear them and a caution to listen to the album. That this kind of album is possible at all, speaks volumes about the nature and support of the folk song community, and why? Eve’s songs stem from a period of grief. We all will experience the emotion I’m sure, but for Eve and unhappily thousands of others, her grief was triggered by a family suicide. In Eve’s case when her father took his own life in 2017. Happier times are recalled with some photographs taken by her Dad Phil Goodman, in 1974.
The title track opens the album, it’s a quiet beginning, guitar and bass weaving below the lyrics: “a friend left me flowers… I count the hours, I’m not ready to say this, I’m not ready to lose you, I’m not ready to say goodbye…” On Burn, a finger-picked guitar plays a rolling riff, as Eve reflects on loss and the hopeless anger of a shared future cut short. She looks intently at the time of the suicide on That Day, and imagines the hurt her father would have known if he’d realised how fragile and broken Eve felt afterwards. On Pick Up All The Pieces she sings about “longing for a light that won’t go out, and picking up all the pieces of the life that you let go”. There’s an uplift as the song nears its end, when she admits to herself she’s getting good at letting go.
The final track contains the telling lines, “Oh brother we are singers”, and now “we sing a different song”. For some, this album will be cathartic, for others a reminder that no matter how alone we feel, we are connected, often in unspoken ways, to many others around us, to whom we mean the world.
In the age of the smiling selfie and an obsession with self-generated celebrity, Eve Goodman’s album reminds us that pictures catch but passing moments, whereas songs endure and capture feelings for ever.
Seán Laffey