Track of the Day: Junior Brother - ‘The Men Who Eat Ringforts’

Alt folk linchpin Junior Brother – the moniker of Co. Kerry native Ronan Kealy – is at it again, claiming new ground with his fresh, daring single ‘The Men Who Eat Ringforts,’ out today.

“The song recounts a scene in rural Ireland all too common today: the bulldozing of a ringfort for a coming motorway,” the singer-songwriter explains, describing the song as, “a twitch of frustration, spat into modernity’s hollow wheel before it clears the way. Sacred things unseen to the suits are still there for them willing to look.”

The rising alt-folk artist’s new release follows his June EP, Junior Brother’s Favourite, and the critically acclaimed 2022 Double LP The Great Irish Famine, a record praised for its brutal honesty and rage-filled, riotous folk numbers.

But there’s still much to be scornful of, and Junior Brother carries that same fiery frustration into this new track.

Junior Brother / photo credit: Adam Heffernan

Intricate guitar opens the song, as Kealy builds tension with relentless, fury-fueled instrumentals, creating a solid wall for Kealy’s vocals to rail against. His voice is as distinctive as ever, soaring and dipping throughout the tune, twisted with his thick Kerry brogue.

The track drowns out to a storm of clashing noise and voices, really ingraining itself in your head — an intentional success, as Junior Brother’s songwriting pattern has proven.

If there’s a way to be both melodic and angry, Kealy’s found the secret formula. His uncompromising lyricism and bold musical direction have placed Junior Brother in a prime position: he’s an alt-folk mainstay, far removed from the mainstream.

The new single is released alongside an unsettling music video directed by Ellius Grace, showcasing the singer himself cosplaying as one of those suits the song is written against. In the video, Junior Brother is held captive by a mummer, ultimately succumbing to his own fatal hubris.

Of the music video, the singer shares that it is representative of, “the push-and-pull between modernity and the earth, and how the two are ultimately interlinked.”

Junior Brother’s newest release arrived ahead of his EU, UK and Ireland tour dates, including a headline, full band gig at Whelan’s, Dublin on December 23. Tickets are available now at the link here.

Listen to Junior Brother’s new single ‘The Men Who Eat Ringforts’ below and check out the new music video, directed by Ellius Grace: