The spirit of independence

There has been more than a lot of negative comment in various branches of the media over the past couple of years about the state of Irish music. One school of thought is that there is an endemic lack of ambition about the place – and that, especially, there is a paucity of genuinely original, distinctive, independent talent here. hotpress has seemed almost alone, at times, in disagreeing with this overbearingly cynical consensus.
Our attitude has always been based on the principle of credit where it’s due, no matter what the musical style or leaning of the protagonist(s).
The effect of this approach is that all albums, whether by a home-grown rapper like Collie, or an essentially rural rock outfit like The Saw Doctors, will be treated with the same seriousness, and given the same chance to shine as anything by U2, David Holmes or the latest guitar-slinging darlings, whether it’s Director, Humanzi or The Marshals (hopefully coming to a record shop near you, shortly). And if the Saw Doctors record is a good one, as their recently released The Cure most certainly is, then there’ll be no ignorant prejudice or musical snobbery to stand in the way of our saying so.
This is one reason why we have tended to differ from the miserabilists and the grumblers. Thing is, there’s a huge amount of activity on the recording front in Ireland, and – for sure – not all of it stands up to the most intense scrutiny. But, to look at it from the opposite perspective, a lot of really good, interesting and challenging records are being made by Irish artists and bands of widely differing shades and stripes. Which is why there is more that a passing interest in the recent announcement of the nominations for the first Choice music prize. Based on the model of the Mercury Prize in the UK, the objective here is to pick what would effectively be seen as a kind of Irish album of the year, the emphasis being on non-mainstream works, of real artistic rather than commercial importance.
Even taking those parameters into account, there are those who will look at the list and argue that the omission of any one or all of Dave Couse and The Impossible’s The World Should Know, Autamata’s Short Stories, Pugwash’s Jollity, The Walls’ New Dawn Breaking and Damien Dempsey’s Shots – to take just five of those sitting in the neglected tray – is hard to justify. And it is difficult to imagine the combination of criteria which would have conspired to ensure that none of these records would make it across the threshold, and into the final ten.
In Damien Dempsey’s case, is it in part because he is signed to Sony, a major? But Bell X1, who are signed to Universal, are included – so, on the face of it at least, that can’t have been a factor. Might it be, then, that there is a failure to understand the importance of music that is rooted in the Irish tradition? Or that working class songs of social and political import are somehow sneered at or looked down on? Or is it something else again?
By the same token are country-based boys (and girls) less than fully welcome? Were Limerick’s Giveamanakick too raw on We Are The Way Forward, released at the tail end of 2005? Were Rulers Of The Planet too punky, or merely too damn Cork-ish on In Thirty Minutes We Destroy The Planet? Was the great Wexford man Pierce Turner’s hugely compelling The Boy To Be With even considered? Might he be deemed too old? And what of another Limerick outfit, the unfashionable but excellent Noel Hogan solo vehicle Mono Band, the quality of whose eponymous record surprised even the open-minded?
And then there’s Gemma Hayes The Roads Don’t Love You, also strangely omitted. And Paul Casey’s Songs In Open Tuning. I could go on – as I said, there’s a lot of interesting and challenging records out there. And challenging, by the way, in some cases at least, involves the challenge to leave your snobbery at the door.
No matter. For now, 10 albums have been selected by the jury and, without a shadow of a doubt, they are all serious, and in some cases weighty offerings, deserving of attention. That, in some respects at least, there isn’t quite the diversity that might have been desirable is disappointing, but there is plenty of quality.
All of the albums in contention were given the lengthy review treatment in hotpress during the course of the year and – as it happens – most were given the thumbs-up, in earnest. Indeed, there are some records among the 10 that may well be regarded as classics in the long run. The question that all Irish music fans need to answer for themselves is: which ones? And separately: are there others outside the box that might qualify even better for that accolade?
We didn’t offer unreserved acclaim to every record on the list. In this respect, Cane 141 were probably the least fortunate. Ed Power wasn’t seduced by Moon Pool, but there are others in the HP camp who rate both the band and the album very highly. The Turn album also provoked a somewhat muted response – considered by many to be less than their most impressive outing, it was marked down accordingly to a slightly grudging 7 out of 10. That said, Ollie Cole’s status as an outstanding figure on the Irish scene remains undeniable.
In general, while there is a desire to make any system like this consistent, the marks attached to album reviews in Hot Press – as in any magazine or newspaper – can vary somewhat, based on the temperament of the writer. Some people push their ratings higher, in a spirit of enthusiasm. Others are more cautious and hold back. It’s what being said about the records that you really need to pay attention to.
Over the years, Irish artists, who have released albums, especially as independents, have generally cited two major obstacles to any campaign to make significant progress. The first is that it is extremely hard to get records played outside the specialist music shows on radio stations all over the country – and even getting those specialist plays can involve a lot of hard work. The second is that there is a limited availability of space in retailers and that – up against the hundreds of records being released every month by the multi-nationals – it is therefore hard to secure both availability and good display in record shops.
Which is why hotpress and HMV have joined forces to undertake a special initiative, to coincide with the announcement of the Choice shortlist.
As a special hotpress HMV show of support for the artists and bands involved, all of the albums that have been named among the list of nominees for the Choice music prize are being stocked afresh by HMV – and will be promoted within HMV stores all over Ireland during the coming fortnight. The next step, of course, is for the public to follow through by buying the records in decent numbers – but we’ll leave that up to you!
And who is most likely to scoop the winner’s prize of €10,000? Julie Feeney’s fiercely original and intense 13 Songs is a personal favourite, but Bell X1’s Flock, Joe Chester’s A Murder Of Crows and Nick Kelly’s Running Dog – all very fine records – are probably the favourites.
Unless the more commercially-driven and marketable phenomenon that is The Chalets sneak up on the inside…
Ladies and gentlemen, in strictly alphabetical order, the 10 albums plus links to what Hot Press said about them when they were reivewed during the course of 2005
Bell X1 - Flock
Cane 141 - Moon Pool
The Chalets - Check In
Joe Chester - A Murder Of Crows
Duke Special - Adventures In Gramophone
Hal - Hal
Julie Feeney - 13 Songs
Nick Kelly - Running Dog
Emmett Tinley - Attic Faith
Turn - Turn