We Banjo 3 – Haven
Self Released – 27 July 2018
For those who’ve not come across We Banjo 3 before, let’s get a couple of things straight, there are four of them and only two play banjos. Two sets of brothers from Galway, David and Martin Howley, Fergal and Enda Scahill, have carved out a niche for themselves melding traditional Irish arrangements with bluegrass, celtgrass is their word for the hybrid. When I talked with them last year (interview here) they’d taken a break from their pattern of releasing an album a year, and were bubbling with plans to take the production of their next album over to the US. They hoped to be recording in Nashville and to engage with an external producer for the first time. With Haven they’ve realised most of those expectations, jointly producing the album with Frank Marchand. He also looked after the recording and mixing at his studio in Maryland, so they didn’t make it quite as far as Nashville. Bryan Sutton, a bluegrass acoustic guitar maestro with Ricky Scaggs’ band and Hot Rize, helped boost the bluegrass side of things, playing on Marry Me Monday and also picking up a co-producer credit.
Notable among the reasons the band gave me for wanting to work with a producer was to help them re-assess the direction their music was taking. Having self-produced in Ireland all of the albums up to this point, they felt another voice in the studio could introduce possibilities they’d otherwise overlook. They were content for words like “mainstream” and “commercial” to creep into our conversation but always qualified by a recognition there was a uniqueness to We Banjo 3 they had to protect. So how does Haven measure up to these criteria? It does have a different feel to previous albums, stemming partly from the nature of the material. A higher proportion of songs to instrumentals and the absence of traditional songs and tunes mark a departure from their previous output. Writing credits for all of the tracks go to the band with just a couple of “assists”. A sign, surely, of growing confidence in an ability to use their celtgrass idioms to make music that addresses the ups and downs of this increasingly fractured world.
The band’s tour last year, under the banner Light in the Western Sky, highlighted mental health issues affecting young people they meet on their travels. So, it’s no surprise that Haven reflects that particular down, directly with the songs Light in the Sky and Hold on to your Soul and more obliquely with songs of lost love such as War of Love. The arrangements behind the lyrics are dominated, as you’d expect, by the band’s trademark stringed instruments, David’s guitar, Fergal’s fiddle, Martin’s mandolin and banjo from both Martin and Enda. The interplays of their influences, Irish traditional, bluegrass and Old Time are as intriguing and effective as ever. Less expected, on three songs, they add a guest brass section. They have used brass previously but, on Haven, the trumpet, saxophone and trombone arrangements are fuller and are allowed more time to evolve. An unexpected combination it may be, but it undoubtedly works and points to one direction in which We Banjo 3 may develop.
Dawn Breaks is a three-tune set beginning with The Dawn Break, banjo and fiddle sketching out the melody, guitar keeping the rhythm, a piece with all the hallmarks of their Irish roots. Then, just before the switch to the middle tune, the brass join in, I wasn’t expecting that. The second tune, In The High Heather, lets bluegrass influences take over, Fergal’s fiddle giving it plenty of swing. Back to a more Celtic sound for the closing tune, Barr Trá Reel, and the brass section re-joins the party. A fascinating tune sequence that makes you sit up and take notice. Fergal and his fiddle also take a starring rôle in Marry Me Monday, a waltz he wrote for his wedding. He’s accompanied by Bryan Sutton on guitar and some delightful cello from Erin Snedecor, with Martin taking over the melody on mandolin for a middle section. There may be fewer instrumental pieces than on previous albums, but plenty of effort has gone into ensuring that quality wins out over quantity.
From the start of their journey in 2011, We Banjo 3 have had no difficulty in maintaining their unique selling point, coining the name celtgrass. Combining their existing influences was the start, but Haven tells us the journey is far from over as celtgrass spreads its boundaries, showing it can assimilate what it finds while remaining true to its roots.