Black Water County "The Felowship of the Craic" EP, self-released
Release date: 15 August 2014
Running time: 22:23, 6 tracks
Black Water County first work was an EP released in 2013. It showcased a young and fresh band with a huge potential: a couple of interesting covers and several kick-ass self-penned songs. Later, they released a video covering The Pogues and then it was clear that Tim Harris (lead vocals, bass), Shan Byron (vocals, tin whistle), Gavin Coles (banjo, mandolin), Bardley H-Clarke (rhythm guitar) and Andy L Smooth (drums, percussion and acoustic guitar) were moving in the right direction. This amazing band is now offering their new opus to all the Celtic punk fans and, to tell you the truth, "The Fellowship of the Craic" has every single thing I want to find on a folk punk album: no covers of overexposed standards, but a bunch of original material; slow ballads; pub anthems to sing-along and instrumental stuff. And no sappy lyrics, but updated versions of traditional folk themes.
The EP first track is titled “Roving Man” and it gets an intimate acoustic treatment.
The following song will make you jump. Tim and Shan share vocal duties on “The Parson’s Daughter”, and awesome number on which Gavin’s banjo shines again. Black Water County moves to a territory mastered by the likes of Irish Moutarde and Celkilt.
Ska beats can be heard on “The Ballad of Ramblin’ Johnny”. Tim vocals are perfect and Shan and Gavin’s performances on tin whistle and banjo are high voltage.
“Brandy” is a ballad that I would link to Joe Dolan “The Foxy Devil”, a song which was recorded by Christy Moore. Excellent vocals by Tim and Shan again.
The next number is the sing-along on the album. If you liked Callanach “Irish Pubs”, this is Black Water County’s answer: a fun song in the Dropkick Murphys vein playing tribute to every single pub in Wimborne. By the way, all the pubs that are mentioned on the songs are real, you can find them here , here and here.
Finally, Black Water County makes me happier with a tune: “The Leaky Barrel Jig”, an instrumental with a reggae part at the beginning and brilliant mandolin.
Once again, Black Water County EP package is wonderful: a "Lord of the Rings" inspired artwork, a jewel case and a 6 page booklet including all of the lyrics and credits. And the “Parental Advisory” sticker is there too ;-)
I don’t like the term “new" wave, since it becomes old soon . There is always a new wave coming, so the previous one is not a new wave any longer. So, if you like the British Folk punk second wave (or was it third?) with bands such as Roughneck Riot and Smokey Bastard, you should know that there are a bunch of young bands pushing hard, and Black Water County is at the forefront of that wave. Come on, join The Fellowship of the Craic.
Tracklist:
1 - Roving Man 2:56
2 - The Parson's Daughter 3:32
3 - The Ballad of Ramblin Johnny 4:05
4 - Brandy 4:09
5 - All the Pubs 4:30
6 - The Leaky Barrel Jig 3:09
Website
Facebook
Reverbnation
Twitter
Click to buy
Band's Store
Review by Kinksmarkham
Release date: 15 August 2014
Running time: 22:23, 6 tracks
Black Water County first work was an EP released in 2013. It showcased a young and fresh band with a huge potential: a couple of interesting covers and several kick-ass self-penned songs. Later, they released a video covering The Pogues and then it was clear that Tim Harris (lead vocals, bass), Shan Byron (vocals, tin whistle), Gavin Coles (banjo, mandolin), Bardley H-Clarke (rhythm guitar) and Andy L Smooth (drums, percussion and acoustic guitar) were moving in the right direction. This amazing band is now offering their new opus to all the Celtic punk fans and, to tell you the truth, "The Fellowship of the Craic" has every single thing I want to find on a folk punk album: no covers of overexposed standards, but a bunch of original material; slow ballads; pub anthems to sing-along and instrumental stuff. And no sappy lyrics, but updated versions of traditional folk themes.
The EP first track is titled “Roving Man” and it gets an intimate acoustic treatment.
The following song will make you jump. Tim and Shan share vocal duties on “The Parson’s Daughter”, and awesome number on which Gavin’s banjo shines again. Black Water County moves to a territory mastered by the likes of Irish Moutarde and Celkilt.
Ska beats can be heard on “The Ballad of Ramblin’ Johnny”. Tim vocals are perfect and Shan and Gavin’s performances on tin whistle and banjo are high voltage.
“Brandy” is a ballad that I would link to Joe Dolan “The Foxy Devil”, a song which was recorded by Christy Moore. Excellent vocals by Tim and Shan again.
The next number is the sing-along on the album. If you liked Callanach “Irish Pubs”, this is Black Water County’s answer: a fun song in the Dropkick Murphys vein playing tribute to every single pub in Wimborne. By the way, all the pubs that are mentioned on the songs are real, you can find them here , here and here.
Finally, Black Water County makes me happier with a tune: “The Leaky Barrel Jig”, an instrumental with a reggae part at the beginning and brilliant mandolin.
Once again, Black Water County EP package is wonderful: a "Lord of the Rings" inspired artwork, a jewel case and a 6 page booklet including all of the lyrics and credits. And the “Parental Advisory” sticker is there too ;-)
I don’t like the term “new" wave, since it becomes old soon . There is always a new wave coming, so the previous one is not a new wave any longer. So, if you like the British Folk punk second wave (or was it third?) with bands such as Roughneck Riot and Smokey Bastard, you should know that there are a bunch of young bands pushing hard, and Black Water County is at the forefront of that wave. Come on, join The Fellowship of the Craic.
Tracklist:
1 - Roving Man 2:56
2 - The Parson's Daughter 3:32
3 - The Ballad of Ramblin Johnny 4:05
4 - Brandy 4:09
5 - All the Pubs 4:30
6 - The Leaky Barrel Jig 3:09
Website
Reverbnation
Click to buy
Band's Store
Review by Kinksmarkham
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