Album Review: Beoga, Carousel

Three years after being catapulted to international attention on Ed Sheeran’s globe-conquering album ÷, and joining the megastar on some of the most famous stages around the world, Beoga are back – with a sound that's unapologetically bigger, bolder and more joyous than ever.

With their new mini-album, Carousel, have stepped confidently into the world of glittering pop for the masses – a sharp shift in direction from 2016’s Before We Change Our Mind, but not a wholly unexpected one, given the phenomenal reception to the trad-pop fusion they showcased on Sheeran’s ‘Galway Girl’ and ‘Nancy Mulligan’.

Of course, Beoga have never been afraid to piss off the folk purists – blurring the boundaries between genres even on their earliest instrumental albums. Now, however, they have access to the biggest names in pop at their fingertips, and they’re more than willing to put them to use – with James Bay co-writing ‘In A Rocket’, and lyrics penned by Sheeran for his wife Cherry featuring on ‘Matthew’s Daughter’.

Stylistically, Beoga refuse to settle. They dip enthusiastically into country-pop ‘In A Rocket’, which sees American singer-songwriter Lissie vocally channeling both Miley Cyrus and Stevie Nicks, before leaning into electronic elements on the darker Foy Vance collaboration, ‘We’re Blood’.

True the album's title, these dazzlingly diverse sounds explored on Carousel whirl around one solid base – with trad elements remaining at the heart of Beoga's approach, even as they continue to expand their vision.