Album Review: James Joyce, Adrian Crowley & Matthew Nolan, Pomes Penyeach

2023 saw the adventurous debut by Irish folk duo Hibsen, with their The Stern Task Of Living built on Dubliners by James Joyce. Now, here comes an ideal companion, with music by Adrian Crowley and Matthew Nolan to accompany the “pomes” from James Joyce’s classic 1927 collection. They take a more electronic approach than the 1933 compilation by a number of composers, under the guidance of Herbert Hughes and Arthur Bliss.

The music on this 2025 model is as adventurous as Joyce’s work, its grounded intensity and conventional instrumental distortions amplifying the poems.

Lisa Hannigan adds delicious harmonies to ‘Alone’, and also sings wonderfully over the Connemara-inspired ‘She Weeps Over Rahoon’ – the place where Nora Barnacle worked. ‘On The Beach At Fontana’ has waves lapping around a twanging cello and Hannigan’s captivating vocal; ‘Nightpiece’ has a slow, mesmeric rhythm; and there’s added dissonance and jagged edges on ‘Bahnhofstrasse’ too.

John 'Spud' Murphy’s production is spot on in every department, capturing the essence of the poems and, hopefully, sending listeners to read the originals with freshly opened ears.

8.5/10