“GRATITUDE is the key to serendipity,” says Dirty Marmalade about their debut album, Hills of Breifne (Spooky Jazz Records).
It’s a fair enough observation from the Cavan band, who also state their manifesto (of sorts) via a press release: “We stand for the creative weirdos struggling to find their place among mainstream society.”
The outcome is a dishevelled record that nonetheless has a real sense of place (Cavan, naturally), atmosphere (a collection of audio samples), and some very catchy songs (Król Markus II, Love Bomb, Lucky Dip, and Big Giant Jelly Baby).
Electric PenguinsThe album isn’t the musical equivalent of rocket science, of course, but there is a feistiness here that other musicians should look for and familiarise themselves with.
FOR SOMETHING a tad more considered and infinitely more accomplished, you could lend your ears to Electric Penguins: The Way Lights a Fire, Pt. 1 (Bohemia Records).
The duo (Mark Cummins and Paul Murphy) has been around for 20 years, but the pair clearly prefer the seclusion of studio environments to performing live.
This album is their first full-length studio collection of songs in 15 years, and to say it’s a layered, brilliantly produced piece of work is an understatement.
Highlights are many, from Oxygen’s glam-glitter stomp to Penny in the Poor Box, which blends The Jam’s English Rose with Elliot Smith’s Beatles-esque tunes in a way that is very clever and cheeky.
George HoustonEQUALLY smart but not so brazen is George Houston: TODC (George Houston Records), which presents the County Donegal singer-songwriter’s songs in sharp detail.
The album title is the acronym for ‘The Original Death Card’, which references the tarot visual symbol of not only death but also the rebirth that follows.
Houston says that his fourth album is “a massive step in removing myself from the shame that comes with growing up queer in rural Ireland”, and you can easily sense the level of liberation that comes with songs so flagrantly fresh and in your face.
Despite his significant back catalogue, Houston might be unfamiliar to many people.
If that’s the case, dear reader, make amends with this album – it’ll be worth your while.
Amble's ReverieNOT SO much worth your while - unless you like music that is as soothing as a duvet day with a Lemsip in one hand and a TV remote control in the other - Amble: Reverie (Warner Records) contains little more than deftly played fireside tunes brimming over with melancholy and memories.
In the past year, musicians and songwriters Robbie Cunningham, Oisín McCaffrey, and Ross McNerney have struck so much gold with their folk-tinged pop/pop-tinged folk songs that they have attained superstar status (selling out 3Arena-size venues isn’t a problem).
Such adulation for such gently unfolding music is interesting, but if that’s what the customer wants, then that’s what the customer gets.
That said, if you’re more into Irish folk/pop with grit and grind, best stick with the Mary Wallopers.
ANOTHER Irish band with more grit than a sandstone quarry is Cork-based Crow Black Chicken, who may have taken some time to release Ghost Dance (the follow-up to 2016’s third album, Pariah Brothers), but who also realise that perfection requires patience.
In truth, Ghost Dance isn’t perfect, but if your music preference is a straight-up mix of hard rock/blues ala Led Zeppelin’s early albums, nifty guitar solos, finger-lickin’ riffs borrowed from Lynyrd Skynyrd, blues-rock swooshes gifted by ZZ Top, and song titles that are as Southern Fried as the band’s name (including Bottom Feeders, Fire and Blood, and Hot Molasses), then this album is for you.
Besides, what’s not to like about a band that has taken its name from a traditional fiddle song (rearranged) by Ry Cooder? Tuck in.
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