The Goo 1
Regular PAUL MCDERMOTT (@LEARNANDSING) TO HERE KN
OWS WHEN - GREAT IRISH ALBUMS REVISITED Soon It Will Come Time To Face The World Outside by Boa Morte Boa Morte hail from Cork: Paul Ruxton, Cormac Gahan and Bill Twomey play guitars, Paul and Cormac sing and Maurice Hallissey plays drums. Soon It Will Come Time Time To Face The World Outside is their debut album released back in 2002 on Teenage Fanclub’s Francis Macdonald’s Shoeshine Records. The album was released to universal acclaim. Uncut declared, “occasionally a record comes along that’s so intimate and immediate you want to disconnect the phone, get under the duvet and forget the outside world.” Mojo was no less effusive writing, “by the time you’ve got the full measure of their sombre elegance, the band are confirmed masters, not slaves, of the idiom.” That “idiom” was a slowed down, sparse, Americana. Billboard recognised it immediately: “the band favours a similar approach to the kind of subtle, slow-burning intensity patented by the likes of Will Oldham and Smog.” “We were all massive fans of the first Palace Brothers album,” says Bill. The others agree. “Palace is a good reference point and something that we latched onto,” says Paul. Cormac adds that seeing the video for the Palace Brothers’ ‘Ohio Boat River Song’ on No Disco was, “a big point in time for us.” Listening to their debut for the first time in years Bill is happy: “In terms of just the sonic qualities of it, it really stands up and it sounds great - let’s say technically - after all these years.” CONFIRMED MASTERS, NOT SLAVES, OF THE IDIOM That’s in no small part to the work of producer Daniel Presley. He travelled around Ireland with Cormac looking for a suitable studio. Cormac recalls that in a certain studio, “he ran his finger across the heads of the tape machine and his finger came out black, it was covered in dirt, ‘let’s get outta here fast,’ he said.” A studio with vintage recording equipment was found and Presley, known for his arrangements on Spain’s exquisite Blue Moods of Spain album, produced a gorgeous record with the lads. Its warm sound gives the album an incredible immersive quality. Boa Morte have recently released their fourth album, The Total Space. Sonically they’ve developed their palette over the last number of years and the record is clearly influenced as much by contemporary classical and ambient music as it is to the Americana of their debut. All have busy lives away from the band. “We’re part timers. It’s a labour of love rather than a labour,” says Paul. “But some people play golf in their spare time, some people do all kinds of different things.” Here’s hoping they never set foot on a golf course. Soon It Will Come Time To Face The World Outside is available on streaming services. The Total Space is available on streaming services and on CD and LP from Bandcamp and record shops. Paul Ruxton, Cormac Gahan and Bill Twomey revisit Soon It Will Come Time To Face The World Outside on To Here Knows When – Great Irish Albums Revisited, available on all podcast platforms. Episode notes and further information: paulmcdermott.ie/podcast PAGE 44 SCAN CODE TO LISTEN!