Hotpress First Cut Sessions in association with Beat FM

First up were Carlow’s Alanalda. The three-piece were missing their drummer, but not too much, turning in a captivating twist of folk rock, with a fiddle and cello interweaving magically behind the vocals of their laconic singer. ‘Sucked My Will To Live’ is an acidic song about a doomed love affair, and when the fiddle player shifted to guitar for ‘Shortcut Through The Park’ his harmonies lifted a song with appealing Troggs-like ba-ba-bas. He switched to keyboards for the Beatlishly catchy ‘I Am The Law’, and we were then regaled with the true story of ‘Steve’s Shirt’ before they bade us farewell with ‘Always Someone Watching’ which featured fiery fiddle.
The Citizen from Clonmel were nigh on perfect, with gangling frontman John O’Connor, a classy female singer, and a tight rhythm section. Best of all, they have a bag of quality songs, performed in the knowledge that music is generally improved by the gaps you leave. ‘Hold Tight’ is a real show-stopper, with heartache vocals a la Loudon Wainwright. A melodica added a plaintive touch to a superb ‘Paper Hearts’ (from their CD) and a Dylanish harmonica solo peppered ‘Valerie’, a song brimming with commercial potential. For ‘Teach You’ they brought a Crazy Horse rawness to a quality song. A heart-warming performance full of commitment, consistency and genuine quality.
Chaplin rounded off the night, proving their last review was no fluke. Their unpredictable arrangements kept us alert for fresh delights as they focused especially on tracks from their new CD Painting By Numbers. It’s no surprise they’ve been snapped up by Black 47 as support for their Irish and US tour. The final gig in this series is on October 29 with Chaplin, The Arrangements and Michael Whelan.