Ye Vagabonds – Nine Waves
River Lea – 13 May 2022
Although their recent tour by barge saw them struggling to top five miles per hour, Carlow’s Ye Vagabonds continue to lead the pack as far as contemporary folk music is concerned.
Last summer, brothers Brían and Diarmuid MacGloinn took to Ireland’s inland waterways for their All Boats Rise project, which featured several alfresco, pop-up performances and guest appearances. Fascinated by folklore and the natural world, and with a tip of the cap to those who forged the way before them, this ‘exercise in slow touring’ neatly summed up their ethos. Emerging from the stifling fug of the last couple of years, it’s incredible to see how far they have come with the release of their third record, the gorgeously restrained Nine Waves.
In what feels like a relatively short space of time, both Ye Vagabonds and River Lea (Rough Trade’s folk imprint run by Geoff Travis, Jeannette Lee and music journalist Tim Chipping) have significantly altered the landscape of traditional music. In his review of the duo’s stunning sophomore breakthrough, The Hare’s Lament, Thomas Blake discussed the challenge facing the label to maintain momentum and how that release delivered remarkably. Since then, we’ve had two superb seven-inch records by the MacGloinns and Lisa O’Neill, an anthology of archival Irish music (Fire Draw Near, compiled by Lankum’s Ian Lynch – Dublin’s answer to Harry Smith) and John Francis Flynn’s darkly hypnotic debut, I Would Not Live Always. Ye Vagabonds have also kept form, packing out assembly halls and picking up so many accolades that they are sharing out RTE Folk Awards among relatives.
Our first impression of Nine Waves is of Petrie Lenehan’s artwork. Conor Campbell’s buck, briar and hare have receded from the picture in favour of an abstract seascape. “Through my work, I hope to stir thoughtful reflection and a sense of peace,” her bio explains, “express[ing] my deep connection to place and nature.” It’s little wonder why Ye Vagabonds decided to work with Lenehan. Their artistic intentions are well-matched, but the cover’s muted palette also hints at its sound. The way the ensemble has approached these arrangements is highly impressionistic, with strings and sax applied tastefully like carefully considered brush strokes.
Saltwater soaks into the fabric of these songs. One of two incidental pieces, Tuaim was developed through Brían’s soundscaping work for radio. Opening to the sound of surf, it pulls the listener in, bustling into life like a small orchestra slowly tuning up. Alongside its counterpart Fuaim, it sits separate, stylistically, from the other nine tracks, where each song signifies one of the album’s ‘waves’. An Island then gradually comes into view. Reminiscent of Kris Drever’s songwriting (another islander with a knack for the allegorical), their voices swell in unison, subverting John Donne’s ‘No Man is an Island’ to deliver a universal sentiment hopefully all can understand. Its sincere, slow-burning power hits hard, building to the brilliantly rendered refrain, “alone and together / is all that we’ll ever be.”
There’s a fairly even split here between the original and traditional, something we have yet to see from Ye Vagabonds, with their debut leaning more towards the former and The Hare’s Lament comprising entirely of the latter. However, we are never concerned with these classifications, as both draw so naturally from the same source, striking the listener as timeless and uniquely distinct in equal measure.
Their self-penned first single, Blue Is The Eye, is a tender tribute to their late friend Andrew Early. One of the strongest living links to Róise na nAmhrán, Early was a one-of-a-kind, grandfatherly figure to the siblings during their time spent on Árainn Mhór. Through their poetic retelling of Early and Róise’s story, it becomes a rousing meditation on life, loss, and the importance of preservation; themes which crop up throughout Nine Waves’ emotionally charged set of songs. Cellist Kate Ellis (Steve Reich, Rhiannon Giddens, Martin Hayes) and double bassist Caimin Gilmore (Sun Collective, Lisa Hanigan, Justin Vernon, s t a r g a z e), both of new-music collective Crash Ensemble, mimic the billowing sea through their pronounced bowing, leading to an epic, brooding close.
As the oceanic atmospherics ebb away, three spirited tune sets offer balance and an opportunity to showcase both Ye Vagabonds’ extended musical family and their newly made Frank Tate instruments. Boasting their surname in the title, The Humours of Glin springs forth, having recently enjoyed some road testing with concertina ace Cormac Begley during their trio tour. After so long apart, the joy of those performances carries marvellously, Emmet Gill’s cheerful air only rivalled by The Munster Jig, which begins with a finespun reel of fiddle, mandolin and concertina, before opening to the broad embrace of Alain McFadden’s harmonium.
Recorded in the Dublin Mountains at Hellfire Studios, they have producer John ‘Spud’ Murphy to thank for the extra sonic scope here. Albeit featuring less guttural sub-bass than we’ve come to expect from his work with Lankum, this remains a masterclass in acoustic production. Each silver-toned instrument is given ample breathing room, with intricate layers of piano, cello and double bass interwoven, recalling the subtle dynamic shifts and quiet intensity of caroline’s impressive debut, which also bares Spud’s name on the album credits.
However, the true bedrock of the duo’s sound lies in those full-hearted voices and their sympathetic playing and interpretation of folk song. Take Go Away and Come Back Hither, for example, which evokes Joanna Newsom with its cawing, questioning strings. Almost indistinguishable from one another, their lovelorn lilting and tumbling ornamentation is quite simply staggering. Brían’s slightly huskier timbre, alongside the somewhat softer tone of Diarmuid’s singing, heard in harmony, continues to move deeply.
Child ballad Lord Gregory has seen many incarnations, with recent renditions from Lisa O’Neill, Jon Wilks and Burd Ellen. Though despite the carefree skip of the mandolin, Ye Vagabonds’ lyrical patchwork feels especially pertinent, calling to mind matters of consent and accountability. Elsewhere, the haunting progression of ‘broken token’ ballad Her Mantle So Green again serves as an example of how effectively Spud and co have helped the siblings achieve their vision. Over the course of seven minutes, shadows encroach on Diarmuid’s staunch lead, with string lines straining against one another, echoing the uncertainty and twisted drama of the narrative.
The rolling caress of Máire Bhán serves as a fitting finale. Learned from the singing of Róise na nAmhrán, it provides a bridge to The Hare’s Lament, where the brothers interpreted much of her repertoire. Brían’s voice glides on this ethereal Irish-language air, buffeted by sax and fluttering ivories courtesy of Ryan Hargadon (Anna Mieke, Rachael Lavelle, Kojaque). However, it seems to dissipate all too soon, leaving us in a curious state of introspection. Reflective and reverent, with Nine Waves Ye Vagabonds prove once again to be at the forefront of an ever-evolving, flourishing Irish folk scene and have done so in the most understated and inspired fashion imaginable.
Nine Waves is released on 13th May 2022 via River Lea.
Pre-Order here: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/ye-vagabonds/nine-waves
An Island:
Watch Blue is the Eye (Live on RTE)
Ye Vagabonds Forthcoming Tour Dates:
2nd May – Brudenell, Leeds
3rd May – The King’s Arms, Manchester
4th May – Blue Arrow, Glasgow
5th May – Bodega, Nottingham
7th May – King’s Place, London
9th May – The Greys, Brighton
10th May – The Redgrave Theatre, Bristol
11th May – Bluestone, Pembrokeshire
12th May – Liverpool Philharmonic, Liverpool
4th-5th June – Fire In The Mountain (Wales)
9th June – Vicar St. Dublin Launch Show
10th June – Cloughjordan
11th June – Doolin Folk Festival
12th June – Visual, Carlow
15th June – Linenhall, Castlebar
17th June Oranmore Castle
19th June Arranmore Island
22nd June – The Everyman, Cork
23rd June – Connolly’s of Leap, West Cork
24th June – Crown Live, Wexford
25th June – Ballykeefe Amphitheatre, Kilkenny
Tickets are available from yevagabonds.com