Fling

This debut album sees Galway quartet Fling pepper their take on Irish folk trad with generous touches of bluegrass, world music and rock roots. ‘Jack The Buck’ is a rich slice of Celtic rock, with Pauli Small’s bass to the fore, as it is again on ‘Atlantic Swell’. The band’s instrumental virtuosity is evident on ‘Triptych’ and the lively ‘Bottle Opener’, and they create a rattling South American atmosphere for ‘Puerto De Sol’. Singer Liam Carroll does a fine job on folk staples ‘Shady Grove’, ‘Banks Of The Ohio’, and ‘Friend Of Mine’, despite the hackneyed arrangements. Maeve Kelly adds charming backing vocals as required, her whistle-playing bringing a pastoral Celtic feel to her own ‘Foregone Conclusion’, and Steve Wickham contributes trademark fiddling to a couple of tracks. At their best, Fling bring a welcome freshness to a genre in danger of becoming moribund.