Modern Rockin‘ Sounds of the Irish

March 14, 2007

From the Middle Ages on, through church music, work songs, war ballads, and harpers, the Irish culture has contributed so much to music.  As far as popular music goes, there are plenty of Irish musicians that you’ve probably become familiar with over the past 10 years or so - U2, The Cranberries, Enya, The Chieftains, The Corrs, and Sinead O’Connor among them.  And there are plenty of others who have been spending the past decade churning out their own lesser-known but not any less creative brands of music in Ireland, including Ash, The Plague Monkeys, Cuckoo, Watercress, My Bloody Valentine, and The Pogues.  So what’s new in Irish modern rock music today?  Plenty, lads and lassies!
You may have heard this first singer-songwriter’s songs in the Julia Roberts/Clive Owen/Jude Law movie, Closer. Damien Rice was born in Dublin, and is one of the best-known Irish singer-songwriters in the pop genre;  he plays his folky pop songs (like “Cannonball,” “The Blower’s Daughter,” and “Volcano”) with an indie-pop twist, and is known for his striking vocals and eclectic style.  The female counterpart to Rice may well be Tipperary’s Gemma Hayes, who plays guitar, writes, and sings thoughtful, melancholy songs like “Undercover” and “Back of My Hand.”  Hayes, currently at work recording her third album in France, was named Best Irish Female Artist at last year’s Meteor Awards (Ireland’s own version of the Grammys), and co-wrote the song “Hazy” with Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz for that band’s live album.
 
TRIPLE-THREAT
Unrelated bands, but a triple-threat nonetheless, the Irish bands The Thrills, The Walls, and The Frames may share band-name structure, but their music styles are very different. 
The Thrills, influenced by the likes of Neil Young and The Beach Boys, have an Americanized Irish rock sound, and hit number one in Ireland with their album So Much For the City - you might’ve heard their songs “Santa Cruz” or “Big Sur,” the latter of which was featured in the now-defunct TV series The O.C.  The Walls, on the other hand, are more influenced by the blues, and their bombastic songs have made fans on the likes of fellow Irishman Bono (of U2) - The Walls were even invited to open for U2 a couple of years ago, and have also opened for Bob Dylan and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  The Frames approach their music from yet another divergent direction - these are more inward-looking songs influenced in equal parts by poetry and classic rock, and the band itself is named after lead singer Glen Hansard’s habit of fixing bicycles for his friends - hence, the bicycle frames lying around his house.
On the more pop side of things, Ronan Keating and Westlife are a couple of Irish pop phenomenons, indeed.   Keating, who started his music career in the pop band Boyzone, quickly moved on to work on his own solo songs, for a brief time co-managing Westlife. Westlife, in the meantime, were created as a boy band and were signed by none other than American Idol’s Simon Cowell;  they remain mostly unknown in the U.S., but have legions of fans in the UK, Europe, and Asia;  the only song American audiences are likely to know is their hit “Flying Without Wings,” which hit #10 on the U.S. pop charts.
 
AMERICAN STYLE
If you enjoy your Irish music with an American flair, there are even a couple bands in that genre for you to check out, namely Flogging Molly, the Los Angeles-based American Celtic punk band, complete with bodhran and fiddle, who are influenced by everyone from Johnny Cash to The Dubliners and The Pogues;  and the Dropkick Murphys, Celtic punkers from the opposite coast (Massachusetts, to be exact) who are also influenced by The Pogues, but who add a bit of The Clash in for good measure. 
Also from L.A. are the Young Dubliners, who’ve performed their Irish rock sound a number of times in Northern Michigan through the years. The band is contemplating a swing back to Traverse City this summer.
And steering back around to the Emerald Isle itself, don’t forget to check out Northern Irish band The Divine Comedy, who have been around for years, but are just now reaching a higher level of public acclaim due to their 2006 album, Victory for the Comic Muse - you may have heard some of their songs on the Doctor Who television show, or on the commercial for the Airbus A340.   And those aren’t the only Irish modern rockers you might like - these are just a start, as there are plenty more, so hop on the Internet and start listening - and you’ll quickly get drawn in to the hearing of the green!
 
Find out more about the new artists in this article at the following links:
Damien Rice:  www.damienrice.com
Gemma Hayes:  www.gemmahayes.com
The Thrills:  www.thethrills.com
The Walls: www.thewalls.ie
The Frames: www.theframes.ie
Ronan Keating: www.ronankeating.com
Westlife: www.westlife.com
Flogging Molly: www.floggingmolly.com
Dropkick Murphys:
www.dropkickmurphys.com
The Divine Comedy:
www.thedivinecomedy.com