Album Review: HamsandwicH, The Live Album

Live albums are musical Marmite. Some see them as half-arsed and rapacious, consisting of little more than poorly recorded, lesser versions of songs. The opposite – and correct – point of view is that they can be standalone masterpieces: capturing the indelible essence of iconic performers (Brown’s Live At The Apollo) and placing the listener in the midst of history (Cash’s At Folsom Prison).

Wherever you stand, all the greats have one, so it’s fitting HamsandwicH celebrated their special 20th anniversary gig in Dublin's 3Olympia by putting it on wax for The Live Album. Certain parameters go into making live LPs work.

The crowd should be prevalent but not overpowering (a lá sexually awakening baby boomers during Beatles TV appearances). HamsandwicH’s audience provide rowdy percussiveness during ‘The White Fox’ and ‘Fired Up’, complenting the music without drowning it out.

 

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The Live Album also avoids any recording shortfalls. Harmonies and instrumentation remain pristine yet natural, with the use of horns and strings bringing an organic timbre. Niamh Farrell and Podge McNamee’s vocals are typically synergetic and soaring, unfaltering from ‘Keepsake’ at the start, to closer ‘The Naturalist’.

There’s a seamless flow to proceedings, evident immediately with the headphone-bursting transition between ‘St Christopher’ and ‘Models’. Elsewhere, mid-verse giggles and interstitial banter add to the intimacy. There’s lots of music too. With 18 flushed-out songs to enjoy, even the most scrupulous diehards would struggle not to find their favourite HamsandwicH tune on the track listing.

The ultimate measure of a live record, really, is its ability to create a high-fi illusion of the in-person experience. The Live Album achieves this with unequivocal éclat – and then some.

9/10