Channelling the ancient and eerie through a decidedly modern, unsettling lens, Ronan Kealy, the singular force known as Junior Brother, continues to carve a unique space within Irish folk. His sound is defiantly idiosyncratic, a challenging yet richly lyrical brew. Today, he offers Welcome to My Mountain, the bold, sprawling overture to his anticipated third album, The End, slated for September 5th via Strap Originals – Pete Doherty’s boutique label.
Welcome to My Mountain is a headlong plunge into Junior Brother’s darkly surreal topography. Built on a hypnotic whistle riff, the track lurches through unpredictable time signatures, a sprawling beast mirroring modern unease and ancient myth.
Kealy explains its origin: “The opening track…stemmed from my attempt at writing a slipjig – The song’s main whistle riff was the result. With this, the song mutated into quite a large beast…a journey into the mouth of modern madness.” Lyrical inspiration came from “an actual firsthand account of a man getting lost in a Fairy Fort…heard from UCD’s great folklore podcast Blúiríní Béaloidis.”
The striking visuals by longtime collaborator Ellius Grace animate this eerie narrative. An older rural Local recounts a bizarre, otherworldly encounter with a sceptical Collector. As Junior Brother describes, the Collector “ends up immersed, and ultimately trapped, in the rural purgatory the Local Man describes. Teller and Collector become merged, within the pastoral world of the Old Man’s nightmare.” It’s a fittingly disquieting visual for a deeply rooted track that feels dangerously unmoored.
With The End promising to be his most ambitious work, “Welcome to My Mountain” reaffirms Junior Brother as one of Ireland’s most distinctive voices, beckoning us into his strange yet captivating domain.
Pre-Order The End: https://orcd.co/jbtheend
June
6 GLASGOW Glad Cafe
7 STIRLING The Tolbooth
July
6 LIMAVADY Stendhal Festival NI
August
9 ANTRIM Under the Drum Festival NI
12 EDINBURGH La Belle Angelle supporting Peter O’Doherty
13 EDINBURGH La Belle Angelle supporting Peter O’Doherty
29 DORSET End of the Road Festival with the Incredible String Band
September
12 CORK The Pav Sounds From a Safe Harbour Festival Album Launch
13 DUBLIN Grand Social Club Album Launch
14 DUBLIN Grand Social Club Album Launch
20 LONDON South Bank Centre QE Hall with the Incredible String Band
21 DROGHEDA Vantastival Festival
October
10 TRALEE LASTA Festival Síamsa Tire
November
9 CLONAKILTY DeBarras Samhain Festival
14 GALWAY Róisín Dubh
15 LIMERICK Upstairs at Dolan’s Warehouse
21 DERRY Sandinos
22 BANGOR Open House Festival
23 DUNDALK Spirit Store
26 BIRMINGHAM The Victoria
27 LONDON Hootananny
28 LEEDS Hyde Park Book Club
29 MANCHESTER Gulliver’s
Tickets: https://juniorbrother.com/#section-tour