Off The Record
by Mike FarragherRSS 
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It is fitting that the debut solo album from singer songwriter Maura Kennedy should be called “Parade of Echoes.” As the album progresses, you get the sense that Kennedy is rummaging through the costume department in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, trying on influences like jackets.
Fortunately for her and her listener, most of what she tries on fits beautifully.
“Parade of Echoes” opens with “The Thing With Feathers,” a spooky track that mixes choral harmonies wafting over a minimalist bed of bass and bells. “I feel this thing with feathers beating in its soul cage/I long to set it free to see how far if flies/the cage is empty when the hope inside you dies,” she sings toward the end as feathers flap underneath her.
Before the Christmas break I took a look at the best Irish albums of the decade, and there was an abundance of great music to choose from. The same held true for this side of the Atlantic.
Listed below are the best things that landed in our mailbags from Irish American bands.
All of these artists work tirelessly on the road and are our best hope at keeping Irish culture alive in an era of digital downloads and declining pub attendance.
