The Spook Of The Thirteenth Lock are an Irish band who take their name from a poem about a haunted canal lock. In terms of their musical influences their latest album The Brutal Here And Now is described as tracing a line from the Irish 60’s folk revival through progressive, kraut and post rock. It is wonderfully dark and experimental and there’s no denying its originality, it is without precedent. They sing in English, Irish and Italian and the album is by far their most ambitious release to date offering a huge horizon of sound as well as taking influences from Italian and Indian folk.
Throughout you catch glimpses of influences before they dissipate and re-emerge, Italian folk melodies shimmer beaneath the surface of a heavier wall of sound and feedback on Heave the Bellows and their Irish influences dabble with some lovely psych folk rock on Sweeny’s Frenzy . If I was pushed for a favourite, and I’d need to be with such a diverse album, the Irish song Bóthar Crua Iarthar would be it, just for the whole feel and energy of the song.
The Spook Of The Thirteenth Lock really do push the boundaries way beyond anything I’ve heard before. It is so refreshingly original that I’d go so far to say that they are heralding a new and exciting frontier of music, and that deserves high praise!
The album has been widely acclaimed in their native Ireland and the band will make their UK live debut in the new year so this is a band to keep your ears open for.
Listen to the whole album on Deezer:
Order The Brutal Here And Now from our Store here
http://thirteenthlock.net