The Goo 1
OCT-NOV 23 the Jews. ‘Failte’ is the Irish word f
or ‘Hello’. It means ‘Welcome’. Les Keye’s latest album explores his own family’s unique history, initially as immigrant Jews from Eastern Europe via Great Britain, later as a ‘mixed family’ in 20th Century Dublin, Jewish and Irish both. It’s a travelogue, a history and a love-letter. It’s also very beautiful. Keye has form. In the fond-remembered past a street busker, then the singer/writer fronting ‘The Wilde Oscars’, later still a producer of regard. This time it’s personal. The words and melody are poetry, the music, (with co-producer/guitarist Joe Chester) is quite simply majestic. This is contemporary adult music. A family and personal history recorded in sweeping guitar soundscapes, great highs and moving lows. Laughter, tears and mostly love. Always love. (Keye is a father himself now.) It’s really a novel. Tracks like ‘Phantom Limb’, ‘Barely Dividing’, and the title track are chapters in a greater story. Family snapshots. Personal yet universal. Relevant. Moving, (No pun intended...) But especially beautiful. ‘20 Greenlea Road’ has been made available for free on the obvious online outlets. (I don’t know how that works, but ‘Todah Rabah’, I guess!!!). Do yourself a favour. Fáilte. SS Kristin Hersh - Clear Pond Road A fixture in my (listening) life for thirty years, since Kristin Hersh hit me with the one-two punch of her debut solo album, Hips & Makers and University (as part of Throwing Muses). This album almost directly bisects the two congruent parts of her existence. It’s not a genre of music that I otherwise naturally gravitate toward, but Hersh admits her lyrics are incomplete, transmitting only some of the story. The sound is self-described as “jagged”, likely why it particularly appeals to so many? Opener ‘Bewitched Reruns’ pleads “Once more with feeling”, perhaps a most unnecessary demand when dealing with Kristin, who leaves a piece of her soul in every record. There’s an echo of her debut solo following the line “It sounds like thunder in here”, where a distant bass drum, subtly booms, like on her most famous solo outing, with Michael Stipe, ‘Your Ghost’. An almost exclusively acoustic album, it is only occasionally accentuated by a faint swooning electric guitar. An extensive string accompaniment provides much of the weight, coupled with some immaculate sound design elevating the more traditional tracks. This release almost sounds more like a Throwing Muses album unplugged, always on the verge of rasp of feedback before being knocked backwards by some ampage. The trio of ‘St. Valentine’s Day Massacre’, ‘Reflections on the Motive of Fire’ & ‘Eyeshine’ burble on the point of perfection with a beautiful darkness and confirm it as the match of any Hersh release thus far. Maybe better than ever, you’d be wise to mark her late October Irish dates into your calendar. DC Coach Party - Killjoy A British four-piece hailing from the Isle of White, their blossoming COVID compromised, have churned out over a dozen well received singles while we’ve waited for this much anticipated album. They are the ultimate wolf in sheep’s clothing. Their sound is often that of a college indie band from a movie. A good one where they rock the celebration ball at the redemptive moment in a coming of age story or a clued-in indie-type that yields heap of future famous names and become a cult classic. The opener sounds bouncy and cheery, but cuts when Jess Eastwood sings “We’re all going to die, What’s the point of life” yet has a catchiness that will become anthemic to fans. Then we have the third track that’s more introspective and has a touch of dream pop darkness “I feel alone, I always question myself…Can’t you tell I’m ugly inside” that will speak to a generation struggling with identity and self-worth. You begin to think this “wolf” would definitely take a bite out of your grandma until we hear this trio. The caustic ‘Parasite’ railing against the leeches of this world, the thrilling ‘Micro Aggression’ doing loud, quiet, loud and ‘All I Wanna Do Is Hate’, yep. Thematically, not only has the itchy wool been shed but we have a T-Rex underneath that’s now stomping around and has just bitten the head off the prom queen. Not to be a Killjoy but it’s a side I’d definitely like to see more of. DC Pale Blue Eyes - This House Pale Blue Eyes have found themselves in an intriguing place in a Venn diagram, part Indie/Post Punk/Electronic/Shoegaze and Pop. It makes for a tremendously appealing sound, one that has me thinking they really PAGE 17