Celtophilia

Welcome back, we're glad you're here!

Artist: Kinfolk
CD: This Land

Bonnie writes: Kinfolk is a two musician band out of the United Kingdom. Consisting of Brian McDaid and Gerry Power, they are a remarkably polished sounding pair. This Land is the first album they’ve recorded, and it’s one of the best put together, most cohesive freshman albums that I have ever heard. There is a great flow and progression through the songs, and the production is almost flawless. The song writing is excellent, in regards to the music and the engaging lyrics.

I’m not sure that I would classify Kinfolk as a purely Celtic band, more like Celtic inspired country with a helping of folk rock. (Country out of the UK, I know right? It sounds a little odd and yet it works.) These guys have great voices, whether they are singing alone or slipping into one of their effortless harmonies. I have a huge weakness for bands that know how to work harmony, and Kinfolk rocks it out loud.

Stac Pollaidh is a very delicate and lovely instrumental. In my enthusiasm for Brian and Gerry’s voices, I almost neglected to give them credit for being skilled instrumentalists as well. This softly peaceful tune intertwines violin, guitar, and flute so seamlessly that I can hardly tell where one weaves out and another weaves in.

My favorite track from This Land is definitely Campsie Glen. It’s one of the songs that sounds a bit more Celtic in both music and content, and since that’s where my heart is, I really like this one. That’s in spite of the chirping birds. I have a (probably unreasonable) prejudice against songs that include any sort of animal sounds, because they make all three of my hell hounds bark their heads off. It’s not great for my relationship with the boyfriend and the roommate when I’m playing music that sets off the dogs at three in the morning.

Working For The Company is a melancholy piece that will resonate with a ton of folks that are doing what they have to from nine to five, instead of what they wished they could. This one hits the trifecta for me - beautiful harmony, great lyrics, and of course well played guitar.

Although it’s one of the least Celtic sounding tracks on the CD, I enjoyed I Blame The Whiskey. It’s thoughtful and sad, but there’s a rocking country beat driving it in the background, and somehow it makes me smile every time. Maybe I’m an evil person, though.

Check out Kinfolk if you’re into Indie bands with great original songs and a unique sound. If you’re a Celtic purist, or if you don’t care for country inspired music, you may want to let this one slide. And if anyone lives in the UK, go see these guys live and put up a decent video on Youtube for me!

Mike declares:Kinfolk are a grand duo who hail from the south eastern part of England, by the names of Brian McDaid and Gerry Power. For This Land, they are joined by a vast group of talented musicians, handling all manner of instrument from fiddle, to Uillean pipes, all the way to modern keyboard. As you might expect, this adds a lot of dimension to what could have been a much simpler album. Often their sound reminds me more of a modern Country music group than what I would look for in a straight Celtic offering, but the Celtic influences are there and delightful. The vocal harmonies are excellent, and one of the more impressive things about the album is that all of the songs were written at least in part by either Gerry or Brian. There’s no falling back on tired songs that have been performed by countless bands here. This Land is an original work.

There are several good instrumental tracks on This Land, but my favorite is probably Paddy’s Shout, but the prize for Quirkiest Original Title goes to Thingamajig, which I’m convinced is a reel and the guys are just screwing with my head. Either way, it’s a worthy tune, and a great addition to the album.

I really enjoyed Donegal, Working For The Company, and I Blame The Whiskey, which is a situation we can probably all relate to at one time or another. These songs, though, are the ones that really lead me to say this CD leans more toward Country than Celtic.

My hands down favorite track on This Land is Campsie Glen, a gorgeous love song with a lot of layers, and a clean, bright fiddle filling in the space between the lyrics. I’ve listened to it a dozen times, and I can’t wait to hear it again.

If you want to find out more about these guys, and check out the CD, you can find check out their Myspace page, and of course, we recommend that you at CDBaby.

Mike’s Note: Reading back over the reviews that Bonnie and I wrote for this CD, I realized belatedly that we said almost exactly the same things. What can I tell you, folks? Sometimes Bonnie and I agree on stuff. I try not to read what she has written until after I’ve written my own review so that I’m not influenced by her opinion, so I’m surprised this doesn’t happen more often.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 16th, 2008 at 10:05 pm and is filed under Contemporary Celtic Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.