Songs of the Irish

March 9, 2008

The biggest Irish music new story of 2008 was a star at this year’s Academy Awards. The Frames’ frontman, Glen Hansard, snagged an Oscar for Best Song From a Motion Picture (“Falling Slowly” from the low-budget underground hit Once) along with his singing partner, Marketa Irglova.
The film was a remarkable little-guy-wins scenario that had the support of Jon Stewart, Colin Farrell, and Michael Moore, who reportedly “hung out” in a friendly fashion with Hansard’s starstruck mother for a good portion of the awards show evening. For those of you who haven’t heard of The Frames - or the Hansard/Irglova side project Swell Season - you should probably snag their albums right now; Hansard’s music is some of the best and most emotional coming out of Ireland today.

LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE BOYS
If more Irish singer-songwriters are what you want to hear, there are several in addition to Hansard to warm up to. Shortlist Music Prize winner Damien Rice is one to start with. You’ve probably already (if unknowingly) heard Rice’s songs in such TV shows and films as Lost, Jericho, The Black Donnellys, and Shrek the Third. - His emotional lyrics are most often accompanied by guitar in traditional singer-songwriter fashion, and his Live from the Union Chapel CD has just hit stores.
Similar to Damien Rice’s style amidst the new crop of Ireland’s best are Declan O’Rourke, who can claim the likes of Paul Weller and Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood among his fans; Paddy Casey, who was recently snagged by U2’s management company; Fionn Regan, who was nominated for Irish album of the year last year; Mundy, whose track “To You I Bestow” is part of the soundtrack for the Baz Luhrmann version of Romeo + Juliet; and Owen Brady, whose debut album on Sony will be released this year.
Although there is a much larger contingent of male Irish singer-songwriters than female, a couple of the guys’ most notable contemporaries include Gemma Hayes, whose songs have been featured on “Grey’s Anatomy” and in the Brad Pitt film “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”; and former Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordan, whose first solo album, Are You Listening? was released last year to critical and fan acclaim.

ROCKIN’ THE EMERALD ISLE
After all this singer-songwriter stuff, perhaps you think that Irish bands can’t rock. Well, you’d be wrong - bands like the already-established U2, Ash, Snow Patrol, and The Thrills have proved that. And the new crop of Irish rock bands is doing their colleagues proud.
The Divine Comedy hails from Northern Ireland and mixes pop and a bit of sci-fi with their rock tracks, as evidenced by Neil Hannon’s contributions to the Doctor Who soundtrack and his vocal work with The Cake Sale track “Aliens.” Speaking of The Cake Sale, they’re a great overview of Irish pop-rock music, as they’re technically a collective put together by Bell X1’s Brian Crosby; among the musicians collaborating on Cake Sale songs are Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody, The Thrills’ Conor Deasy, Turn’s Ollie Cole, and the aforementioned Hannon, Hayes, Damien Rice, and Glen Hansard.
Best known for their live performance - which just netted them a 2008 Meteor Award for, well, Best Live Performance - The Blizzards craft their brand of Irish indie-rock in Mullingar, County Westmeath, helmed by singer Niall Breslin, and saw their latest album, A Public Display of Affection, stay in the Top 50 of the Irish music charts for eighteen weeks. Dublin’s Humanzi and Director are two more great Irish live rock bands, as evidenced by their touring with the likes of Razorlight, The Strokes, the Goo Goo Dolls, and The Fratellis; Director’s pop-rock sound echoes the likes of tourmates The Strokes as well as Beck and Muse, and won them the Best New Irish Act award at the 2007 Meteors. Carrickmacross Indie rockers The Flaws, managed by music industry mogul Derek Turner, just released their debut album, Achieving Vagueness, to critical hoorahs; and the wackily-named Ham Sandwich snagged a Meteor of their own - namely the Hope for 2008 Award - which makes their quirky indie-rock something to watch this year.

PLUGGING IT IN
Electronica, electro-rock, trip-hop, and hip-hop are alive and well in Ireland, too. Kharma 45 are one of the newest bands on the Irish scene, blending synth work with classic rock and citing influences from The Stone Roses and Muse to The Chemical Brothers. Alloy Mental is another Irish band with an electronica focus, pairing up Belfast DJ/producer Phil Kieran with singer-songwriter Martin Corrigan for the 2007 album We Have Control. Belfast band Oppenheimer’s indie-pop/electronica has been such a hit that the first pressing of their self-titled debut disc sold out, and had to be repressed for further sales, a popularity which also sent them on the road to tour with the likes of The Bravery, Regina Spektor, and The Chalets, who actually just broke up this past February, but whose tracks - which you might’ve also heard in “Grey’s Anatomy” and on the trailer for the film “Madagascar” - you can still snag online.
Super Extra Bonus Party are another band to watch, especially in the electronica field; mixing up electronica, indie-rock, and hip-hop, the Irish music press has called their debut disc “the most inventive Irish album this decade,” leading them to open for the likes of Cadence Weapon and The Go! Team; they’re currently writing songs for a second album, so keep an eye out for that one, too.

KEEPING THINGS TRADITIONAL
There continue to be new crops of more traditionally-based Irish musicians each year, too, which keeps Irish folk stylings fresh and often blends them with more contemporary sounds - great for both pop/rock fans, and for those interested in a more familiar-sounding introduction to the music of old Ireland.
Damien Dempsey is one of these artists, skillfully blending modern wordplay with old-school Irish sounds of the sort you might hear in an Irish pub, while Tommy Fleming sticks to putting his own twist on more classic Irish songs, such as “The Cliffs of Dooneen,” one of his most popular tracks. Sharon Shannon sticks to the classics, too, but modernizes them by blending the traditional songs with reggae, Cajun, and French-Canadian music, among other influences; her single “What You Make It” even featured hip-hop artists, and she just released the album Renegade last year.
Bands like Planxty keep the real Irish folk fire burning through more heavy use of such traditional instruments as the bodhran, tin whistle, uilleann pipes, and hurdy-gurdy, and solo artists like John Spillane do similar by releasing songs sung in both English and Irish, such as Spillane’s 2006 album, The Gaelic Hit Factory.
Whether it’s the pensive songs of a Glen Hansard or Gemma Hayes, the classic Irish rock of U2, the new-school Irish rock of Snow Patrol or The Blizzards, the electro-influenced sounds of Kharma 45, or the more traditional tracks of Damien Dempsey, there’s an Irish modern rock sound for you - if you can borrow the luck of the Irish just long enough to find it.