I’ve just been listening to Una and Phil talking about Lisa Hannigan’s new album on Phantom. Both of them were pretty much in agreement that Lisa Hannigan doesn’t exactly fit in to the current Irish music zeitgeist of forward thinking, eclectic music.
It’s been proven on this blog time and time again just how vital Irish music is becoming so it certainly feels weird to be talking about the more traditional acts from the last wave of a Irish music of 2000 – 2005 aka The Damien Rice/BellX1 years. I’ve no specific problem with these artists and those associated with them per se, It just doesn’t feel like my music.
Having said that, I am very impressed with Hannigan’s new album Sea Saw, it’s a collection of assured and confident acoustic folk songs from a singer and song-writer with a considerable craft. She is joined by a bunch of clearly talented musicians. It just so happens to be the kind of album you could play for your parents. One surprising thing about the timbre of her voice is that through the course of the album she possesses a chameleon-like trait to sound like other singers from time to time including Beth Gibbons (see ‘I Keep It All’ ) and Feist, which is a complement to Hannigan, I guess. A lovely lilting album.
Buy from Road Records.
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005 . He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Cara Magazine, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, founder of Lumo Club, club promoter, event curator and producer of gigs, listening parties & events in Dublin.
Anyone go to Lisa’s gig in Button Factory last night? One Day International were supporting so no doubt it was a great gig..
But do you LIKE IT, Niall? I thought Lille was a Joanna Newsom song when I heard it on the radio first
Love this video
http://www.irishtimes.com/events/electric-picnic/
I saw her last night in The Button Factory. To be perfectly honest this sort of album is usually not my thing. You could play it for your parents and they’d like it. Therein lies the beauty. I believe that the album has mass appeal. The musicicans, which include Gavin Glass and Donagh Mulally are obviously great at their craft and Lisa Hannigan has a canny ability to keep an audience enthralled. The place was packed last night which i thought was surprising as yesterday afternoon she played in Road Records and there were only twenty people there.
The album sometimes reminds me of early stuff by Mary Margaret O’Hara. I’m loving it. I’m obviously getting old. Now where’s me pipe and slippers?
It’s ‘Sea Sew’! Heard a couple of songs performed live on Phantom’s ICON show. It’s very accomplished stuff and worth going out and buying. Choice music award nominee number 1…?
Just finished giving this a spin and it is a sweet little album- can definitely pick up on some echoes of other artists but it’s all positive comparisons. Particularly like Splishy Splashy and Pistachio- this is what I had hoped for from Emiliana Torrini’s latest but got it here instead!
Phil, thanks. I think I got that title for the original CD-R I got. Or my brain whatever, it’s changed now.
Matt, I’m sure you’ll always be “hip” and “with it”.
I got introduced to Fionn Regan by my mother
To be honest I think we will see a trend towards this type of act in the music business, mostly because parents are more likely to buy the CD than rip the music off the internet for free…
I forgot to say, I’m really looking forward to seeing her live some time.
Heh just laughing at the ‘music for parents’ type comments, cos my Mam (who usually hates everything I listen to) is into Lisa Hannigan now cos she heard me playing her! Saw her gig at Electric Picnic, definitely one of my highlights of the whole weekend. Can’t wait to get the album oooooh!=D
she was excellent at the picnic, one of the best of the weekend for me. both of those tracks are brilliant.
regarding her being “forward thinking”…
maybe some mongoloid from the internet could point her in the right direction by mutilating one of her songs in some sort of tasteless mashup with a dizzee rascal accapella? yeah..
I think it’s funny when you juxtapose old Irish music with new Irish music. Like Fight Like Apes, Jape, Super Extra Bonus Party, The Vinny Club and so on are practically reinventing Irish music, which is awesome and exciting, and brilliant because they happen to be really talented acts, as well as pushing newness.
Next to them, Lisa Hannigan et al look boring, sure, because they’re drawing from a completely different well of influences and their music is based in a different time and has a different feel. That said, it’s still good stuff. I totally didn’t like this record first, but I’m really getting into it now.
Nialler is right, Irish music is vital at the moment, and I’d say it’s only a matter of time before the artists involved in this new wave get the credit for what they are doing on an international scale. People like Hannigan and Adrian Crowley are still rocking the old school vibe from a few years ago, but that’s cool too, because they are amazing musicians.
I’m just glad that the fucking copy cat one man and his guitar and his mates shite has died, because it made the scene so claustraphobic and stagnant. The best thing about Irish music now is that there IS no scene. Most stuff is fractured, independent of everything else and that’s why there are so many individual ideas cropping up.
And there was me thinking that the Irish scene at the moment was about as weak as it has been for many a long year! Jape are hardly new, Richie/Jape were playing with David Kitt back when his albums were really good. There are some really great Irish acts at the moment but you’d need to multiply it 10 fold to start believing we’re becoming some sort of hot bed of creativity. We live in hope.
And forgot to say ‘Sea Sew’ (I can’t pronounce that for some reason?) is a lovely little album.
Hugger, the seeds are there which is the point I think.
it will be a very competitive year for the Choice Awards i think..i gonna put 100 large on Jape to win it
Hmmmmm I think Lisa and all those who are “Rocking the old school vibe” should have someone play a Nokia 3210 instead of a piano and a lad scanning Fun size Twixes into a barcode Battler instead of having a guitar,Then they could Join the “Forward thinking” Zeitgeist of Irish Music. Thatll be the day.
Ciaran@17 is spot on.
These days bands just need to turn up with a laptop, a vintage synth or a gorilla mask to be considered in a positive light. “They use COMPUTERS instead of GUITARS? – OMG Irish music is so fresh and vital right now!”
If anyone takes the time out to close their eyes, eliminate all the gimmicks and analyse the music in terms of composition and melodic accomplishment they’d soon realise that most of ‘the current crop’ is just redundant as lowest common denominator, singer/songwriter indie.
Sure some of the acts could develop into something genuinely exciting but the last thing any of them need is tomorrow’s Fiona Looneys blowing smoke up their collective holes, chomping at the bit to run a blog update about the current state of Irish music and how it reflects the spirit of the nation. Cringesies.
Ah come on lads. This is not an argument about laptops over guitars or what not. From my perspective, I’m merely highlighting how little I relate to artists from that kind of time period and Hannigan falls into that. I’ve never mentioned Damien Rice, BellX1, Snow Patrol etc etc here because I’ve never been interested in them.
Colm, that’s a very bleak view you have there. I’m glad its not mine.
Take Heathers for example. Another example of something different coming out of this country that was never there before the more traditional acts.
Nialler my comment was wasn’t aimed at you or what you said in the initial post but the topic in general.
Perhaps it is a bleak outlook but, trust me, i’m as eager as you are to hear some brilliant Irish music. But i’m not going to let that sway my judgement with regard to what IS brilliant and what is decidely average.
I wasnt really answering your thing Niall, It was the radio discussion and that Ridiculous “Forward thinking Irish music” Comment, I was using the Barcode battler thing as it seemed most of those acts mentioned in this Zeitgeist by Unarocks, didnt really use the traditional line up of Guitars and that to make their sound what they are known for.Its not a thing about what is better Guitars or laptops, thats easy, its Guitars. As a maker of this “old school Music” it sometimes annoy the shite out of me that anyone who plays guitar and sings gets lumped into this Category of “fucking copy cat one man and guitar” or “Singer songwriter shite”, and automatically get ruled out of This “Exciting Future of Irish music”. Id rather get all old school and watch Masters like Planxty play some of the most amazing, energetic music in the world than Listen to poxy Crystal Castles Lepping around to the Prince of persia Theme tune. Call me old fashioned.
I must agree with Ciaran and Colm – fairly spot on in my opinion.
It would be very confusing altogether if she incorporates a laptop into her live show going forward….
Oh Christ. Who gives a fuck? Laptops, guitars, synths, uke-fucking-leles and musical bastarding saws. They are all fucking tools to be used to make noise and the only thing that matters is if the noise is any good or not.
But forgetting that what really pisses me off is how insular this country is when it comes to it’s music, things are only ever compared to what’s happening here, what other bands here are doing. Irish people hardly ever talk about Irish music in the context of what’s going on in the rest of the world. Ohh Fight Like Apes, Vinny Club (both of whom I have plenty of time for) etc. are so cutting edge. You mean cutting edge … for Ireland right dudes? Lisa Hannigan is passe … because in Ireland there’s been lots of stuff of a similar style made in the past decade, yet Justin Vernon made a singer songwriter album and people, myself included, can’t say enough nice things about him quick enough.
As for Sea Sew. I think it’s a good record, Hannigan has written good songs, come up with some really nice arrangements for them and she has the most wonderfully arresting voice, it really does get me when she sings.
But what pisses me off most is Phil Udell whenever I hear him on the radio.
Oooh thems fightin words – Thrill Pier vs Udell on Phantom would be good.
i’ve never heard phil udell talk – is it really that upsetting??
Ah I’m sure he’s probably a decent bloke but we’ve got diametrically opposite opinions on what constitutes good music. For that reason I hate the way he says stuff like, and I’m paraphrasing here, “this coldplay record is great, with proper songs, not like that no age rubbish I had to review last week.” and drops your name whenever he’s not impressed with something “hip”. “But Nialler likes it, see we’re cool even if I’m a big lameo.”
I quite enjoy him on the radio. He gets passionate about things. Your comment about dropping my name is a little crass methinks. He’s his own man.
It’s true though, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard him mention you needlessly.
“It’s true though, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard him mention you needlessly.”
Love..?
OMG i love this album Im only 16 and i would way prefer listening to this type of music Lisa,Damien Rice,Josh Ritter instead of crap dance music.She is amazing love her and her music
a touch narrow me thinks antoinette,
so what exactly defines “crap dance music”?