Lankum - The Rocky Road To Dublin (2018)

I've just discovered my new favourite folk group, and so if you like folk music and you haven't heard Lankum yet, then you have to rectify that immediately. Having read an intriguing review of their latest album 'False Lankum', but not having heard of the band before, I looked them up on Youtube, and the first thing that came up were three live pieces recorded for WBGH, and after hearing their stunning 10-minute take on 'The Wild Rover' I knew I'd found something really special. The second song was 'The Rocky Road To Dublin', and surprisingly that was not from one of their albums, and so as soon as I'd got hold of their four studio albums I went back to Youtube to see if there was any more unreleased music from the band, and there was in fact enough for a fifth album from them. 'The Rocky Road To Dublin' is a 19th-century Irish song written by Irish poet D. K. Gavan, which has since become a standard of Irish folk music, and Lankum's version does it full justice. Radie Peat has a superb voice, and the harmonies on this recording are exquisite, while the Uilleann pipes, fiddle, concertina and droning harmonium are the perfect accompaniment. 'Love Is Kind' is a song from their first album, under their previous name of Lynched, and this live take is augmented by Julie Fowlis on harmonium and Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh on flute, while 'Harpatamio' is a short piece which was a hidden track on the CD version of their 'Between The Earth And Sky' album from 2017. 'Hares On The Mountain' is a duet by Radie Peat and Daragh Lynch on the classic Shirley Collins song, and 'Little Tommy Tucker' is a humourous a capella piece which is popular at their concerts. A medley of barn dances and reels is followed by their contribution to the Topic Records celebration album 'Vision & Revision: The First 80 Years Of Topic Records', where current folk groups were invited to cover a song from an old Topic album, and Lankum chose 'The Sea Captain'. 'Rosie Reilly' is a mournful folk tune given an extended treatment in the live arena, but which is yet to appear on a studio album, and for 'Fall Down Billy O'Shea' they were joined onstage by folk legend Eliza Carthy. 'The Old Main Drag' closes the album, with a recording made at Shane McGowan's 60th birthday celebration, and is their take on the Pogues' classic. If you are at all into traditional Irish folk music and you don't know of Lankum, then try this introductory collection, and if you like what you hear then do invest in their four studio albums.      

Track listing

01 The Rocky Road To Dublin
02 Love Is Kind (with Julie Fowlis & Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh)
03 Harpatamio
04 Hares On The Mountain
05 Little Tommy Tucker

06 The Sea Captain
07 Medley: Lucy Farr's Barndance/Road To Glountane/The Congress/Lucy Campbell's Reel
08 Rosie Reilly
09 Fall Down Billy O'Shea (with Eliza Carthy)
10 The Old Main Drag