Album Review: Ushers Island

To call this band a supergroup might even be an understatement. With a lineup consisting of Andy Irvine, Dónal Lunny, Paddy Glackin, Mike McGoldrick, and John Doyle, its members have been part of such legendary bands spanning the decades as: The Bothy Band, Planxty, Moving Hearts, Sweeney’s Men, Lúnasa, Capercaillie, Flook and Solas. Given all of this the bar is set very high for their debut album, and they have for sure lived up to the hype, if not surpassed it.

The album consists of a mix of tune sets and songs sung by Andy Irvine and John Doyle, both recognized singers, but also one song, Bean Phaidin, sung by Dónal Lunny, and the only song in Gaelic on the album. I had never heard Dónal sing before, and while it might not quite compare to Andy or John’s singing, it is nonetheless a pleasant surprise. His is quite low and a bit gravely, so it all depends on your taste.

The first track, The Half Century Set, begins with a signature Andy Irvine and Dónal Lunny mandola and bouzouki counter-melody, augmented by John Doyle’s guitar work. Then, Mike McGoldrick comes in with the melody on flute, and is later joined by Paddy Glackin on fiddle. It is impressive how in sync they are for how little they had played together previous to this group. This track also lays down the complex, layered, and very well coordinated chordal arrangements that feature throughout the album and are to me one of it’s best parts.

Two of the other sets of tunes on the album pay tribute to two legendary fiddlers in Irish traditional music, John Doherty, and Sean Keane. The set Johnny Doherty’s is probably the most energetic of the album, and is one on which Paddy Glackin really shines for John Doherty is one his greatest influences. The set Sean Keane’s is more mellow, being a set of hornpipes.

Of the three songs John sings on the album, two of them are stories, one about a man from Claddagh who was enslaved in Algiers and became a goldsmith during his fourteen years there. The other is about an Irish immigrant who became a soldier in the Spanish-American war. John is a wizard at writing these kind of stories and these do not disappoint. The third song he sings is a version of the classic song The Wild Rover, this time as Wild Roving. While The Wild Rover is usually a raucous song, Wild Roving is a slow, tender song, with a different melody, this one in a minor key, following the same general story.

Andy also sings three songs on the album. Of them, Molly Ban is a definite classic, interpreted beautifully here. Another one is Felix The Soldier, a jaunty song that could easily belong in a pub. Andy’s third song, As Good As It Gets, on the other hand, is a disappointment for me. All the rest of the tracks on the album are quite good, but this one, I find that I skip most times that I listen to the album. It just doesn’t fit with the rest of the album. It starts with a harmonica intro of all things, and the subject matter is simply not interesting, discussing Andy’s romantic attempts in the late 60s. To boot, the melody is rather cheesy, with a polka being inserted for instrumental breaks. However, don’t let this one track discourage you, for the album as whole is great and you can always skip it.

I would certainly recommend this album, and it is definitely one of the best releases so far of 2017.

To get a taste of their sound: