How to Tune a Fish • Beoga

Grá agus Bás • Donnacha Dennehy with Dawn Upshaw, Iarla O Lionáird, Crash Ensemble and Alan Pierson

CONTEMPORARY
Cashier No. 9
To the Death of Fun
Belfast has for many years been a hub for contemporary Irish music. One of the newest acts to emerge from the hometown of  Van Morrison is Cashier No. 9. After securing gigs opening for Snow Patrol and playing at the famed Glastonbury Music Festival, the quintet has finally released their debut album, To the Death of Fun. Their vocals sound like you’d find them in Venice, CA: a lovely array of harmonies reminiscent of Crosby, Stills and Nash. On the heels of the explosive success of new folk interpreters like Seattle’s Fleet Foxes and London’s Mumford and Sons, Cashier No. 9 is emerging onto a music scene primed for their style.

Barleyjuice
Skulduggery Street
A band sure to come under their fair share of Pogue comparisons, Barleyjuice’s new album Skulduggery Street is a collection of energetic songs with a punk rock bite. The early tracks walk a dangerous line that could pigeonhole them into the same street-rock-meets-pub-seisiun that was seemingly perfected in the 90s. They play with a carefree excitement though, an attitude to set them apart from their contemporaries. As the album unfolds, Barleyjuice reveals the capability for much softer elements. They work in pleasant contrast to their rock drinking songs with sweet folky mandolin-driven tunes like “Whiskey Maid,” contrasted by the traditional fiddle-driven “The Postman Always Jigs Twice.” The album ends with the very sweet and gentle tin whistle of “Generations.” The vocal harmonies in this closing track come as a charming surprise following a very upbeat party album. There is versatility in Barleyjuice, to be sure, and they seem to have just barely scratched the surface of it yet.

Susan McKeown and
Lorin Sklamberg
Saints & Tzadiks

Tony DeMarco: The Sligo Indians