The Lost Brothers: After The Fire, After The Rain.

The new album by The Lost Brothers popped through my letter box yesterday. I was disappointed last week when I couldn’t buy it in my local record shop. When I got home that day, I looked online, and on a site called Bandcamp I discovered you could order signed copies of the CD. I’m pleased I bought it because it is a very nice album indeed. It is called After The Fire, After The Rain. I don’t think much of their signatures though! (See picture)

There are eleven tracks and the album is 41 minutes long. The Lost Brothers are a duo of Oisin Leech and Mark McCausland who use other musicians when needed. Among the well known luminaries who helped create this album are Bob Dylan’s bass player Tony Garnier who also co-produced the album, M Ward who features on guitar, Jolie Holland who was a founder member of the Be Good Tanyas and fiddle maestro Steve Wickham from The Waterboys.

I suppose you would describe this music as Americana because it has a very American sound and was recorded in New York, but it has an Irish soul. It’s like being in a desert and yearning for the rain and the wind. I think Mark comes from Omagh in Northern Ireland and you can see the influence of that area in such tracks as Six Mile Cross and Glens Of Gortin. I won’t go through every track but what I like about the album is that it creates a mood and maintains that mood throughout. If they were Van Morrison, I think this album would be Veedon Fleece.

It was when I saw them perform the opening song Fugitive Moon on RTE recently that I determined to buy this album. I have shared that song on this blog page. I only have one other LB album which is their debut from 2008 called Trails Of The Lonely. They have another album which I am intrigued by called So Long John Fante which I am tempted to order because John Fante is one of my favourite writers.  I did actually see them perform on the Acoustic Stage at Glastonbury a few years ago and I wish I had paid more attention at the time, but I didn’t realise how great they were. It takes time for this gentle melancholic music to soak in. I don’t have any favourite tracks here, but Venus is very reflective and atmospheric. I like the whistle on Ash Wednesday and the trumpet on Wilderness which gives it a very Tex-Mex feel. If you get the chance to see the Lost Brothers live, then go and see them. I certainly will. I hope they return to Glastonbury this year.