Damp in the Attic
I was... flyin’ it
Magnetic Music MMR CD 701; 57
minutes; 1999
Many thumbs
up to the recent album by Damp in the Attic, a band made of Ennis stalwarts P. J.
King (accordion), Martin Murray (fiddle, mandolin), and Cyril O'Donoghue
(bouzouki, vocals, guitar), with guest Colm Murphy (bodhrán).
Very nice stuff, especially the
instrumentals, although O'Donoghue does a very decent job on songs like Glencoe,
Dobbin’s Flowery Vale, and Lovely Willie. Martin Murray is not
quite as impressive a fiddler as he is a mandolin and banjo player, his tone
being a bit harsh; but the combination with King's accordion works well.
The selection
of tunes is very interesting too. As Siobhán Peoples puts it in the intro,
"The only fault I have [with the album] is there's too many tunes to add
to my 'must learn list'."
It's pretty
much all traditional, except for a few new compositions (very much in
traditional style though)--the reel "Damp in the Attic" composed by
King is fantastic--and one track of French Canadian tunes which sound very
Irish in fact.
I'd say this
one is for the "must have" list.
This review by Philippe Varlet was
originally written for his Celtic Grooves Newsletter and appears here by
kind permission of the author.
For more information about
Magnetic Music visit www.magnetic-music.com.