Brrrh, the Beast from the East has arrived In Westbury.
That is the cold weather from Russia. I just ventured out to go to the bank and
the shops and it felt like -10 C. I’m back home in the warm now. Blizzards are
predicted for later in the week. I can’t believe I was outside digging the garden
in the sunshine just a few days ago. I have put plenty of food out for my
feathered friends so they don’t perish in the cold.
I’m listening to a CD by The Lost Brothers called Trails
Of The Lonely. I saw them at Glastonbury in the Acoustic Tent about three
years ago. I think I only listened to them because it was raining outside. They
sounded quite pleasant, but I must admit I forgot all about them afterwards,
until a couple of weeks ago when I read a glowing review of their latest album
in one of the music mags. I had a look on eBay and found a promotional copy of
their first album from 2008 for only £2.99 so I bought it and that’s what I’m
listening to at this very moment.
If you haven’t heard of them before, they are a duo from
Ireland consisting of Mark McCausland and Oisin Leech. They got together in
2008 and have made five albums since then. The one I am listening to was their
first, released in 2008. It was recorded in the attic of a house in Portland
Oregon. As soon as I heard the first track Angry
At The Sun I immediately thought of early Simon & Garfunkel. I was most
impressed. Fallen is the second song
and has a bigger arrangement and sound with a string driven backing. Ribbons And Bows has a singalong feel
with drums to the fore and a very live atmosphere. City Of The Rose is one of the stand out tracks and has a ghost
like quality which pervades the whole album. I think the house where the album
was recorded must have been haunted, or the band thought it was. No Tears For November is another quality
song with lots of rhyming going on, probably a stream of consciousness type of
song. Refuge is a dreamlike love song
with a lazy days of summer feel to it. Trails
Of The Lonely, Part 1 is next and is an instrumental, Part 3 comes later, there
is no part 2. Mary In The Morning is
a charming love song with whistling accompaniment. Wake Me Up has more whistling as an intro and you wouldn’t think the singers were Irish because the album sounds very
American to my ears. Under The Turquoise
Sky is a sad song which fades away nicely at the end. Last Day On The Job is a great song about a broken hearted clown.
It reminds me of something else, but I can’t think what it is at the moment. Dream No More continues the laid-back
vibe of the album and has a country feel to it. Joker Ghost Laughing Track shows the fact that they are Irish
because it is interrupted with them laughing and talking about the door
mysteriously opening on its own. Who
Could Love You More is another very laid-back love song. The final song is That’s Just Me which just like the opening
track brings me back to Simon And Garfunkel. It is a beautiful way to end a
very nice album.
I have really enjoyed listening to this album on a bitterly
cold February afternoon. I might buy another Lost Brothers CD to see how they have progressed over the ten years
since this first album was released. The last Irish duo who impressed me this
much were Tir Na Nog and I think the Lost Brothers might be just as great as
them.
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