Outdoors, individuals in colorful attire make their way to celebratory events. Indoors, at the dimly lit location in northern London, the emphasis is placed on the topics of mortality and hardship.
Just to clarify, Lankum’s version of traditional Irish music may be intense and confrontational, but it does not physically harm the audience. The Dublin group’s songs touch on dark themes such as murder, suicide, grief, and dread. They also incorporate sea mutinies and struggles on land, particularly in the song “Rocky Road to Dublin.” The band’s set list often includes songs about addiction, and they perform a mix of their own material, covers, and experimental arrangements of folk songs. This sold-out show with a capacity of 3,000 is their biggest to date, marking a successful year that included the release of their fourth album, False Lankum. The album briefly made them favorites for the Mercury prize (which ultimately went to Ezra Collective) and has received high praise in many end-of-year album lists for 2023.
Folk music has always been gristly with suffering. Featuring several vocalists who each play several instruments, Lankum have made their name retelling these old tales of woe with compassion and no little anger. For the band – named after the traditional song False Lankum, a variant of Child Ballad No 93, in which terrible things happen to a baby – ancient afflictions remain horrifyingly contemporary.
Reworded: The first song of their set, “The Wild Rover,” comes from The Livelong Day, their album released in 2019. It is believed to have originated in the 17th century and has since been popular as a drinking song. The Celtic away fans often sing along to this powerful chant. Lead singer Radie Peat’s hypnotic vocals, accompanied by the band’s strong harmonies, bring out the theme of bitter regret for squandering wealth on alcohol instead of using it to purchase land, shelter, and warm clothing.
Even sadder is Lankum original The Young People, a song introduced as being “about the frailty of human life”. Sung by guitarist Daragh Lynch, it starts with someone “swinging” (from a rope) and reminds us, with close harmonies and a pileup of instruments, that life is very short. There’s time, too, for expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian people tonight. Lynch pointedly asks the guffawing audience how it’s going, us having a new king.
To highlight the ongoing struggle for a fair and equal world, Lankum also aim to overwhelm the senses. While other folk bands, like the Pogues, emphasized the chaotic energy of traditional Irish music and groups like the Waterboys focused on the spiritual and cosmic elements of Celtic culture, Lankum uses repetition, reverberation, and harmonies to create their unique sound.
Cormac Mac Diarmada plays the fiddle and Ian Lynch, brother of Daragh, plays the uilleann pipes. They play with a serious and unrelenting tone, while Peat adds to the atmosphere with harmoniums and accordions. Their music has been dubbed “doom folk” and is reminiscent of bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor, who also use violins, ominous themes, and progressive ideas. To enhance their performance tonight, Lankum has added even more musicians: John Dermody on percussion and a large bass drum, Rachel Hynes on piano, and occasional trumpet from Fred Wordsworth of Caroline.
The sound is spectacular, from the captivating conclusion of The Wild Rover, to the upbeat finale of Bear Creek. The intense storm at sea in The New York Trader (a story of a ruthless ship captain meeting a dark fate) is portrayed as a chaotic, three-dimensional anti-shanty. DK Gavan’s rendition of The Rocky Road to Dublin features a spine-chilling section with grinding machinery and bowed instruments that feel merciless. A type of dance music emerges from the darkness, but it has a surreal quality and lacks celebration. The end includes an incorporation of Sting’s protest song in support of striking miners, We Work the Black Seam, originally performed by the now-defunct folk group Swan Arcade.
Lankum provides a moment of levity with their track “Lullaby” from their debut album Cold Old Fire (2014). The piece features a unique, mostly instrumental sound and is dedicated to the late Sinéad O’Connor, whom the band considers to be a legend. The band shares their experience of playing after O’Connor’s performance at Shane MacGowan’s 60th birthday concert in 2018.
When the band performs a version of The Pogues’ song The Old Main Drag, the entire venue becomes lively. The song tells the story of someone who moves to London, resorts to prostitution in Piccadilly Circus, gets beaten by police, and regrets their life choices. The male members of the band sing it while Peat plays the harmonium, creating a somber and hauntingly beautiful rendition without the Pogues’ usual romanticized tone.
The most notable song of the evening, however – and the most impressive on the False Lankum album – is still Go Dig My Grave, which represents the second instance of suicide by hanging. Lankum is a group, at their strongest when their voices come together, but Peat’s exceptional instrument appears to have its own multiple melodies.
The performance starts with just her voice, as she narrates the story of a young woman whose partner refuses to marry her. As other instruments are gradually introduced, the mood becomes more tense. The woman’s suicide note reveals that she took her own life because of love. The somber song builds into a forceful beat accompanied by piercing high-pitched sounds, calling out sexism. With incomprehensible whispers layered over the growing intensity, the whole experience almost feels like a ritual to banish something. In a year where both O’Connor and MacGowan have passed away, it seems like the unconventional Irish music scene is in good hands with this brave artist.
Source: theguardian.com
