The Livelong Day by Lankum.

Yesterday when I was in Warminster I thought I’d go into Raves From The Grave and treat myself to a new CD. I came across an album by Lankum called The Livelong Day. I bought it because Lankum were the very first band I saw at Glastonbury last summer when they played on the Park Stage. I described them at the time as Irish folk with a punk attitude. I thought they were great, but I wasn’t very familiar with their music at the time. There is a lot more to them than that. Lankum take Irish music to places it has never been before, or back to a place that has been forgotten in the mists of time. If you expect a happy collection of jigs and reels your illusions will be shattered. This album is not easy listening.

The opening track The Wild Rover is a prime example. Everybody knows this song, but Lankum turn it on its head. It is not a happy go lucky drunken singalong. This is a mournful bitter song of regret. It builds slowly, yet relentlessly, with Radie Peat’s vocals leading the way, building to a climatic ending with drones and acoustic guitars providing an almost aboriginal effect. The Young People by contrast has male vocals with strummed guitars among a haze of drone like sounds. Ode To Lullaby and Bear Creek provide some of the lighter moments to the album. The first tune begins with a kind of a foghorn or didgeridoo type sound which develops into an atmospheric almost Tangerine Dream sort of mellotron influenced tune. Bear Creek is more like the typical fare that people would expect from an Irish Folk band with fiddles to the fore. It has an American bluegrass flavour and they apparently first heard it at a festival in County Mayo.

I know Katie Cruel because I have it on an album by the great Karen Dalton. Lankum’s version is a lot different to Karen’s banjo picking song though. Radie’s vocals are anguished. This album sometimes reminds me slightly of The Celtic Poets by Jah Wobble. You almost expect to see ghosts rise up from the dunes and dance to this mournful tune. The Dark Eyed Gypsy is another traditional song given the Lankum treatment. I bet there has never been a version like this. I don’t know which of the lads sing it. There are so many instruments on this album as well I can’t tell which is what a lot of the time. There are harmoniums, concertinas, accordions, organs and all sorts of sounds. The overall effect is stunning. The Pride Of Petravore was written by Percy French in the 19^th century. I wonder if he would recognise his song today. It begins with an industrial sound, almost like a steam train before the more familiar hornpipe tune. The final track is called Hunting The Wren and is based on the story of a community of women who lived on the Curragh Of Kildare in the 19^th century. It is a bit of a coincidence because listening to this album reminded me at times of another album I have by The Gloaming which has a track on it called A Necklace Of Wrens. Anyway, this is a wonderful track to bring the album to a close. There are only eight tracks, but it lasts almost an hour. You have to admire this band's uncompromising attitude. They don't pander to what the public expect from an Irish band. I have only heard this album twice so far and it is early days yet, but I have a feeling that in years to come it might be regarded as a masterpiece and a classic album of the genre because I have never heard an Irish folk album quite like The Livelong Day by Lankum.