Album Review: Paahto & The Bull, The 123

Named after the Dublin bus route that geographically connects the duo, The 123 is the first album from two of Ireland’s most renowned trad-folk musicians, Paahto (Patrick Cummins) and his counterpart The Bull (John Francis Flynn).

Having played together in all manner of sessions and live settings for the guts of 15 years, it appears to have taken very little for the trad-chemistry of Paahto & The Bull to be replicated in the studio. Guided by Paahto's interest in bluegrass flat-picking and John's original, energetic approach to accompaniment, the songs on The 123 set a new bar for what Irish trad can do.

Their guitar-playing is rich and warm while also being intricate and involved. There’s a delightful tension in the tunes, as if the pair are sparring with each other in order to better tease out the music. It comes most notably in the little playful leaps and variations of ‘The Battle Of Aughrim’ and ‘Nellie, Your Favour, I'm Afraid I Will Not Gain / Tom Moylan's Frolic’, and in the paciness of ‘The Yellow Wattle/The Humours of Ballyloughlin’.

Wonderful stuff.

8/10