Subject: Review: House Devils- Adieu to Old Ireland
From:
Paul Burke
Date: 15 Dec 10 - 02:39 PM
This recording by Mat Walklate, Matt Fahey, Andrew Dinan and Anthony Haller is a stunning tour de force, and I've found it hard top stop playing it over and over. Whether instrumental or vocal, the blend is perfect, and while even strict traditionalists will find it hard to fault the settings of Irish jigs, reels and polkas they are anything but stuffy. Walklate of flute, pipes and more and Dinan's fiddle are complemented perfectly by Fahey and Haller's guitar and bass. The songs are great too, from the pathos (but never falling into sentimentality) of The Month of January, to the swaggering belligerence of the Mickey Dam, and several songs of interest to left ponders- By the Hush, an Irishman conscripted in the Civil War, the misadventures of an Irishman on the railroads of the State of Arkansas, and interesting versions of Naomi Wise and Handsome Molly.
Sadly, if the unconfirmed rumour is true, the band didn't get the best of deals from the record company, and it's said that the record is available on Amazon cheaper than the band can sell it at gigs. But buy it anyway.
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sj
