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Lee Fisher enjoys a set of Celtic and American folk traditions from the Dublin brothers Brían and Diarmuid Mac Gloinn
Image by Lee Fisher
It’s been a while since I’ve seen the queue into the main Cluny venue snaking through to the bar as the doors opened, a testament to the pulling power of Ye Vagabonds, who might be far from household names but are highly regarded among the folk cognoscenti. But first up it’s JFDR (Jófríður Ákadóttir), an Icelandic artist who’s been performing and releasing in various guises for about a decade and is really rather lovely. Ákadóttir offers us a simple but effective blend of slowcore-adjacent Mazzy Star-recalling, vaguely ethereal indie-folk, initially with just her soft but confident voice and her guitar, but with loops, backing tracks and FX added as the set continued. Ákadóttir is charming and funny but very earnest – she’s clearly incredibly invested in this music – and it was an impressive set although perhaps lacking dynamic range. Closer The Orchids (sadly not a cover of the Psychic TV song, which she could legit do wonders with) added more substantial electronic textures and the merest hint of some beats and suggested other directions she could take.
Carlow-via-Dublin brothers Brían and Diarmuid Mac Gloinn appeared from the same insanely fertile scene as Lankum, Lisa O’Neill, John Francis Flynn, Poor Creature and the rest (and share a producer in Spud Murphy), and as Ye Vagabonds they’ve released a great run of records on the River Lea label. What the brothers do – and make look deceptively simple – is write original songs that sound immediately familiar, as aged and resonant as the trad numbers that make up much of their setlist, blending Celtic and American folk traditions and delivering it all with incredible harmonies. So their Go Away And Come Back Hither – an absolute gem – fits seamlessly with their arrangements of songs like I’m A Rover, and the whole thing sounds rich and warm and often quite beautiful. The brothers – augmented tonight by double bass, harmonium and keys – are funny guys, quick with a quip or a shaggy dog anecdote – and the packed room is entirely under their spell, especially during the numerous singalongs (lockdown made them miss singing with other people so now it’s a big part of their shows). What the Mac Gloinns do hews closer to properly traditional folk than I normally enjoy (I tend to prefer the weird, wild, austere stuff) but tonight’s gig was a real treat.
