Album Review: Seamus Fogarty, The Curious Hand

Battered by Atlantic storms and upended by Dublin in successive All Ireland Finals, these are dark days for the citizens of Mayo. Amid all the gloom they finally have something to be cheerful about, however, with son-of-the-soil Seamus Fogarty set to join the top-tier of star-crossed folkies.

Fogarty has been a name to drop among avant-garde folk fans for a while now, having come into the orbit of Scotland's influential Fence collective (along with fellow Connacht native Adrian Crowley). With The Curious Hand, though, he steps up a level. The album, his debut with the esteemed Domino Records, is a by turns barking and blissed-out musical travelogue - veering from whimsical to profound, and driven by Fogarty's determination to venture down pathways none of his peers have previously thought to explore. Lyrically, Fogarty wears the mantle of heartfelt rapscallion.

'Carlow Town' presents an evening marooned in the South East ("We missed the bus from Carlow town to Dublin one clear night") as a spiritual baptism; 'Short Ballad For A Long Man' breaths life into the cliche of the wide-eyed Irishman washed up in London.

The real surprise is the blend of lo-fi electro beats and febrile banjo with which he has chosen to upholster his ballads. The aforementioned 'Carlow Town' pirouettes from Boards of Canada to Christy Moore via the Beta Band; 'Heels Over Head' segues from guttural loops into a gossamer dirge. Remember the name - this chap is going places in a hurry.

8/10
Out Now

Stay tuned for our interview with Seamus Fogarty, which will be featured in our November 22nd issue