Lankum have announced their return for 2023 with a new fourth album entitled False Lankum out on March 24th on Rough Trade Records preceded by new single ‘Go Dig My Grave’, along with a slew of tour dates including new Irish gigs this May in Belfast, Cork, Dublin and more.
‘Go Dig My Grave’ is a droning dark 9-minute song about a hanging and subsequent grief and inspired by the old Irish practice of keening (caoineadh).
‘Go Dig My Grave’ was discovered by Lankum’s Radie Peat who learned the particular version on the album from the singing of Jean Ritchie, who recorded it in 1963 on the album Jean Ritchie and Doc Watson at Folk City. It is a member of a family of songs which seem to be largely made up of what are known as ‘floating verses’, originally composed as stanzas of various different ballads, some of which date back as far as the 17th century.
The video is by Peadar Gill.
“’Our interpretation of the traditional song ‘Go Dig My Grave’ is one that centres around the emotion of grief – all-consuming, unbearable and absolute. A visceral physical reaction to something that the body and mind are almost incapable of processing. The second part of the song is inspired by the Irish tradition of keening (from the Irish caoineadh) – a traditional form of lament for the deceased. Regarded by some as opening up ‘perilous channels of communication with the dead’, the practice came under severe censure from the catholic church in Ireland from the 17th century on.”
Lankum new Tour Dates
19th May – Mandela Hall, Belfast
20th May – Cork Opera House, Cork
30th May – Vicar Street, Dublin
31st May – Vicar Street, Dublin
4th August – All Together Now Festival, Co Waterford
Dublin tickets are €35.00 plus fee on general sale Friday 3rd February at 11:00am from Foggy Notions.
False Lankum
False Lankum was produced by John ‘Spud’ Murphy, and features two original tracks along with 10 trad songs, ‘Netta Perseus’ and ‘The Turn’, both penned by the group’s Daragh Lynch, and the press release says while it draws on traditional folk, the record breaks out of the genre, and is likened to sitting comfortably alongside Rough Trade labelmates black midi and Gilla Band.
The album’s 12 tracks, composed of 10 traditional songs and two originals, show the four-piece using a new palate to colour their sound in an increasingly experimental way, alongside longtime
“We wanted to create more contrast on the record so the light parts would be almost spiritual and the dark parts would be incredibly dark, even horror inducing.
Cover artwork (photo by Steve Gulllick) + tracklisting:
01) Go Dig My Grave
02) Clear Away In the Morning
03) Fugue I
04) Master Crowley’s
05) Newcastle
06) Fugue II
07) Netta Perseus
08) The New York Trader
09) Lord Abore and Mary Flynn
10) Fugue III
11) On a Monday Morning
12) The Turn
All Lankum Tour Dates
APRIL
25th Apr – Silent Green, Berlin, Germany – sold out
28th Apr – Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam, Netherlands– sold out
30th Apr – Le Botanique, Brussels, Belgium
MAY
2nd May – Petit Bain, Paris, France
4th May – London, Barbican, London, UK – sold out
10th May – St Lukes, Glasgow, UK – sold out
11th May – Band on the Wall, Manchester, UK – sold out
Fri 12th May – SWX, Bristol, UK
19th May – Mandela Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland*
20th May – Cork Opera House, Cork, Ireland*
30th May – Vicar St, Dublin, Ireland*
31st May – Vicar St, Dublin, Ireland*
JUNE
28th Jun – Pop Messe, Brno, Czech Republic
AUGUST
4th Aug – All Together Now Festival, Co Waterford, Ireland
NOVEMBER
17th Nov – Manufaktur, Schorndorf, Germany*
19th Nov – Transcentury Update Festival, Leipzig, Germany*
22nd Nov – Lido, Berlin, Germany*
23rd Nov – Stadtgarten, Köln, Germany*
26th Nov – Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands*
DECEMBER
13th Dec – The Roundhouse, London, UK*
