In 2022, we shared the news of Poor Creature, a new project from Ruth Clinton of Landless and Cormac MacDiarmada of Lankum. Shortly after that announcement we were treated to a special BYOL Session which saw Ruth and Cormac launching Féile na Gréine, an annual free music & arts trail in Limerick City.
Today they are announcing their debut album ‘All Smiles Tonight’, for which they’ve also expanded into a trio with John Dermody, a drummer who has played with spacekraut experimentalists The Jimmy Cake for over 20 years. The addition is a stoke of genius, as you can hear on their first single below.
Produced by John ‘Spud’ Murphy, ‘All Smiles Tonight’ will be released on 11th July, 2025, via Rough Trade’s sister label River Lea Records whose expanding roster includes Sam Amidon, John Francis Flynn, Ye Vagabonds, Lisa O’Neill and Brìghde Chaimbeul.
Listen to the first single taken from the album, ‘The Whole Town Knows’ and watch its video, directed by Ruth Clinton and Cormac MacDiarmada, below.
“The video was filmed over a number of years, near to and far from our home in the northwest of Ireland. Starring ourselves and many friends, both boxy and round, with special thanks to the pigeons of Sligo”, explain the band.
From the music to the video, there’s a strong experimental feel to their sound which also manages to sound equally ancient in its ritualistic hauntological trippy tones.
Talking about the album, Ruth shared, “There’s something about the everyday and the fantastical, being entangled, which I think Irish music does so well”. This sentiment runs through All Smiles Tonight, moving through stories and loss and history to create an otherworldly and timeless album for the ages.
The album will be available on CD, standard black vinyl LP and a special independent record shops DINKED edition neon yellow vinyl LP with lyric booklet and signed print.
Album tracklisting:
1 – Adieu Lovely Eireann
2 – Bury Me Not
3 – The Whole Town Knows
4 – Loreen
5 – An Draighneán Donn
6 – All Smiles Tonight
7 – Hicks’ Farewell
8 – Willie – O
Pre-Order here: https://poorcreature.ffm.to/allsmiles
Forthcoming Tour Dates:
April 11th – Whelans, Dublin
July 14th – Rough Trade East Instore, London
Aug 31st – Supersonic Festival, Birmingham
Sept 20th – Royal Festival Hall, London, supporting Lisa O’Neill