The Gloaming— Martin Hayes, Dennis Cahill, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Caoimhin Ó Raghallaigh and Thomas Bartlett— have had a hugely successful year of touring in 2015, performing at some of the most prestigious venues in the world and much of the material that will make up the band’s second album has been honed and refined throughout this year of touring.
With their live reputation well-established, artistic expectations for future recordings are riding high. Their debut was widely acclaimed as one of the finest recordings of 2014, featuring on many year-end best lists including Mojo, NPR Music, and the Irish Times; was picked by The Guardian as The One Album You Should Hear This Week; won a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award; and the Meteor Choice Music Prize for Album of the Year.
But, in many ways, it was merely a stylistic consolidation of what this band is capable of. While Ireland is a small nation, the diversity in styles between traditional music players from different counties and parishes a few dozen miles apart is a thing of no small wonder. The band’s self-titled debut fused & transformed these regional traditions, in the process re-defining what Irish music could be. But having pushed the music this far, one suspects their second album will take them deeper into uncharted territory.
Track Listing:
A1 The Pilgrim's Song
A2 Fáinleog = Wanderer: The Wanderer / Fáinleog / The Holly Bush
B1 The Hare
B2 Oisin's Song
B3 The Booley House
B4 Repeal The Union
C1 Casadh An tSúgáin
C2 The Rolling Wave
C3 Cucanandy
D1 Mrs. Dwyer
D2 Slán Le Máighe
D3 The Old Favourite
Year of Production: 2016