Hoodman Blind – Hoodman Blind (EP)
Self Released – Out Now
Hoodman Blind is a contemporary Irish trio based in Limerick, whose three members came together in 2010 to forge a new kind of music informed by tradition and born of and inspired by both the musics of their native Ireland and of Finland and Sweden (where they’ve studied and performed). The instrumental complement of harp (Niamh O’Brien), fiddle (Seán Ó Dalaigh) and accordion (Finn Harper) provides a very rich sound, with colours sounding together in an unusual combination which quickly becomes mesmerising. There’s also considerable intricacy in the interplay and blending of the three instrumental timbres, all executed with a true togetherness that you don’t often encounter.
The five tracks making up Hoodman Blind’s debut release deliver three instrumentals and two songs. The former are brilliantly and sensibly varied in mood, and immediately arresting, although I’d risk serious underselling by plainly describing them as inventively combining traditional and composed tunes. 6½-minute opening track The Burren’ing Of Mr. Bascombe melds the questionably attributed O’Carolan piece Lord Galway’s Lamentation (introduced by a wordless-vocal prelude) to a memorably “twisted” tune composed by Seán for a whistle player acquaintance. The even more expansive 7-minute finale Enniscrone 68 is kind-of programmatic, in that it chronicles a journey from Limerick to Enniscrone, Co. Sligo; Niamh’s jig gives way to a group-composed slow air where I’d swear you can breathe in the seascape, calling birds and undulating breaking waves and all. The disc’s centrepiece, aptly titled Finnish Willie, brings an energy-fuelled pairing of a traditional Finnish polska with a superb rendition of the well-known Willie Clancy’s Reel.
The two songs are no mere interludes, and Niamh proves herself a very persuasive singer indeed. She makes a particularly good fist of the sinister and cryptic Lal & Mike Waterson opus The Scarecrow, and her fellow-musicians support her to the hilt without overwhelming. Down In The Willow Garden is described as “an old Appalachian murder ballad with possible Irish roots”, here set to the tune of Tim Eriksen’s version of a song from the sacred harp tradition, with Niamh’s lead vocal capably embellished by male harmonies.
The digipack includes knowledgeable and informative liner notes and some attractive artwork. I eagerly look forward to a full-length album from Hoodman Blind, as well as the chance to see them in live performance where I’d wager they cast an intense spell. Even on the evidence of this EP, though, Hoodman Blind impress greatly with their presence and imagination. A real discovery.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/HoodmanBlindMusic
Photo Credit: Lucy Dawson