Top Twenty Irish Albums Of 2009 (Part 2)

By Joe Kavanagh

As the last sands of 2009 drain into history, Ireland's biggest music story of the year was the demise of Boyzone's Stephen Gately, who died at 33-years-old from pulmonary oedema, due to a congenital heart defect.

His untimely passing saw a huge outpouring of sympathy from fans across the globe, spurred the publication of a hugely controversial article pertaining to his death by Daily Mail journalist Jan Moir, and a global tour by his bandmates whose grief was only surpassed by their willingness to milk the story for all it was worth.

Although less publicized, of more import to the music world was the passing of Liam Clancy, who died earlier this month at 74-years-old; the last living member of legendary act, The Clancy Brothers.

Sadly, 2009 also saw the demise of several Irish acts, including the fantastic Giveamanakick, Dagger Lees and - most surprisingly - Oppenheimer, who called time on their celebrated career last week, despite the fact that they were in the process of recording their third album.

Given their overseas success, the duo's decision to disband offers proof positive of just how difficult it is to survive in today's uncertain economic climate, in an industry weathering ongoing decline.

Both Oppenheimer and Giveamanakick appeared on last year's list of best Irish albums, showing just how short the lifespan of even the most credible and talented Irish acts can be.

Without public support, who knows how many of the acts below will be consigned to history by the time it comes time to compiling next years list?

Herm
Monsters

Known to the taxman as Kevin Connolly, this one man gang of an act from Ballinasloe, County Galway, bills himself splendidly as "the product of a short-lived relationship in the late 70s between Her and Him". Whatever his murky beginnings, that product has blossomed into a considerable musical talent, equally at home within the confines of acoustic or electric music.

Highly imaginative, his debut album incorporates a plethora of influences as it traverses through country rock, alt-folk and indie, calling to mind everyone from the Eels, to Radiohead, and the darker moments of John Lennon or Lambchop.

Highlights include the Cold Turkey-like rage evident within Rearrange, the meandering innovation of The Way and beautiful ballad Year Of The Horse, which features a duet with Nina Hynes.

An album that sparkles with invention without ever sounding in the least bit forced or overly flamboyant, and an impressive statement of intent from an important new talent on the Irish scene.

Adrian Crowley
Season Of The Sparks

This year will certainly go down as one of the most memorable of Adrian Crowley's life. Only two months ago, this immensely talented, gentle soul was the victim of a vicious attack on the streets of Dublin, leaving him with severe head injuries.

On a more positive note however, 2009 also saw him release his fifth and finest album, the follow-up to Choice Prize nominated Long Distance Swimmer.

Quite often, the true measure of an artist is their ability to grow, something this Galwegian has achieved with aplomb on each successive release.

His sotto voce, delicate arrangements and delightfully vivid lyrics all conspire to create songs that are akin to sonic paintings, brought to life with subtle, precise brushstrokes.

More ambitious than any of his previous works, Crowley has employed a host of new instrumentation to expand on the hitherto acoustic nature of his music, without losing any of the intimacy or poignancy that has made his work so compelling in the past.

Atmospheric, expressive and sincere, think of a more imaginative version of Jose Gonzalez - and then think better again.

Duckworth Lewis Method
Duckworth Lewis Method

Sport and music have rarely made comfortable bedfellows.

From the quadrennial occurrence of awful soccer songs in time for the World Cup to Hank Williams Jr. and his equally appalling paean to Monday Night Football, sports and music have colluded to create some of the worst musical moments ever committed to tape.

Bearing this in mind, if someone had informed me that one of the best albums to emerge from Ireland in 2009 would be a concept album dedicated to cricket, then I would have requested that they put down the crack pipe, before slapping them upside the head.

More fool me, because if someone were to declare this the best Irish album of the past 12 months then I would have a hard time in arguing otherwise.

The brainchild of Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon and criminally underappreciated Pugwash main man, Thomas Walsh, the album is a breezy, sunny musical jaunt through a range of styles encompassing everything from classical music to glam rock.

Thoroughly engaging, impressively imaginative and at times breathtakingly beautiful, it is a triumph of songwriting, replete with eccentric asides, Beatles-esque embellishments and crystalline harmonies.

It is sufficiently exceptional enough to almost make me want to watch cricket.

Beautiful Unit
European Son

Over the past several years, Dublin label Trust Me I'm A Thief has given us some of the most adventurous artists on the Irish music scene, in the form of acts like Jape, Si Schroeder and Warlordz Of Pez.

Beautiful Unit/a.k.a. Brian Mooney continues this heralded tradition, though as a former member of bands like The Idiots and Into Paradise, he hardly qualifies as a fresh-faced rookie, something that becomes immediately apparent upon first listen to his wide-ranging debut album.

Languid, inventive and occasionally hypnotic, the album sounds somewhat like a cross between Beck and Bon Iver, and Mooney is at his best when blending the world of lo-fi acoustics with just a dash of electronics, which he does to great effect on tracks like Only the Mediocre Survive, The Cause of Death is Birth and Waitress.

Sanzkrit
After The Wedding

Hailed by Hot Press as the best rock album since The Whipping Boy's Heartworm, this terrifically balanced effort certainly serves as a highly impressive opening salvo from Monaghan's finest, and is a timely reminder of just how absorbing and imaginative guitar-driven indie rock can be when placed in the right hands.

As far as comparisons go, bands like British Sea Power, Doves and Interpol - or even acts from yesteryear like Sugar - all spring to mind, on an album that is unrelenting in its contagiousness.

Armed to the teeth with epic hooks and occasionally ridiculously catchy melodies, many of the tracks will be traveling around your head long after a single listen on a record that should have this band traveling around the globe if there's any justice.

In Case Of Fire
Align The Planets

In Case Of Fire have been blazing a trail around the globe since the release of their superb debut last summer.

A pulsatingly infectious, high-energy, hard rock romp, their success has already seen the band support such names as Manic Street Preachers, Bullet For My Valentine and Queens Of The Stone Age, in addition to blowing crowds away as the opening act on the iconic Kerrang! 2009 Tour.

In contrast to the often excruciatingly mechanical approach of so many other hard rock acts, this Portadown three-piece employ a host of flourishes, off-beat time signatures and even a Martin Luther King sample, as they exhibit the kind of imagination that has distinguished fellow hard rockers like Muse and Tool.

The tracks all remain refreshingly uplifting despite their complex, occasionally symphonic nature, each one acquiring added urgency from Steven Robinson's superb, soaring vocals, which call to mind Pink Eyes from Canadian act, F***ed Up.

An exhilarating album for any fan of hard-edged rock, and a work which certainly more than holds its own with the very best that the world of hardcore rock has to offer.

Twinkranes
Spectrumtheatresnakes

Having been lucky enough to catch the live show of this Dublin three-piece a handful of times over the past several years, their name has been included on my ones to watch list for each of the past two Januarys, only for another year to pass without any sign of their debut.

Last month they finally revealed themselves to the world at large with a challenging work steeped in the psychedelic tradition, which frequently comes across as if it were conceived by a contemporary, electronic-minded Syd Barrett.

Incorporating elements of prog-rock, trance and kraut-rock, their remit does not involve appealing to the masses but rather pushing sonic boundaries and musical aesthetics in their search for sounds of the high mimetic.

Frequently hypnotic, always edgy and at times even a little disturbing, it is an album that offers more with each listen, made all the more remarkable by the fact that each track was allegedly laid down in one take with only the vocals overdubbed.

Super Extra Bonus
Party Night Horses

It was always going to be difficult to follow up on the surprising, if thoroughly earned respect, garnered by their eponymous debut album, which achieved broad critical acclaim and ran out as winner of last year's Choice Music Award.

Well apparently this Kildare act never got the memo because not only have they succeeded in exponentially improving their already considerable sound but Night Horses also serves to underscore their importance as Ireland's most distinguished and gifted electronic rock act.

Despite calling on a clutch of divergent collaborators including Canadian rapper Cadence Weapon, vocalist Ann Scott and Kilkenny's R.S.A.G., the overall sound of the album is more cohesive than its predecessor.

Their songwriting too has come a long way, with each structure tauter than before and virtually every track infused with crossover potential.

Fun, exceedingly inventive and exceptionally accomplished, the album would more than hold its own with the likes of Evil Nine, Filthy Dukes or any other act that seeks to meld an electronic body with a rock n' roll soul.

And So I Watch You From Afar
And So I Watch You From Afar

Aside from having one of the coolest names in music, this four-piece from the backwaters of Derry are also in command of one of the most forceful, bombastic and marvelously energetic signature sounds of any band on the island.

Perhaps it's my low attention span, but I must confess that, ordinarily, I am not overly enamored with purely instrumental acts but this album won me overly easily due to the sheer volume of ideas evident within, and their absolute mastery of their instruments.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that ASIWYFA tracks are more expressive than all but the slimmest percentage of acts that actually feature vocalists. Tracks like high-octane opener, Set Guitars To Kill, the swaggering A Little Solidarity Goes A Long Way, and the outrageously good Don't Waste Time Doing Things You Hate, put this enthralling outfit at the very top of their chosen genre.

Add to this arsenal the fact that the band is currently in possession of a live show so explosive that it is already the stuff of legend and this is an act that is all but destined for the big dance.

The Answer
Everyday Demons

Perhaps it's something in the water up north but this is the third hard rock entry on this week's list, with all three originating in the six counties but, to be fair, all three equally testify to the diversity of sounds that inhabit this particular genre.

Of the three, The Answer are without doubt the most hard rock, in the classical sense of the term, as they sow their musical seeds within a plot previously inhabited by everyone from Led Zeppelin to AC/DC, Guns n' Roses and the Black Crowes.

This is no bad thing however, as the Downpatrick three-piece are a worthy addition to a genre that has too often been a parody of itself in recent times.

Characterized by Cormac Neeson's soaring vocals, the trio have a canny knack for a melody, with toe-tapping hooks sitting atop sound songwriting, which manages to sound formulaic without ever being contrived, due to a palpable love for their chosen craft.

Not for every music fan but certainly an exciting album that will warm the cockles of every denim and leather clad heart.