Review - The Irish Experience - Green Energy
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Artist - The Irish Experience
CD: Green Energy
Reviewed By: Bonnie
The Irish Experience is an Appalachian influenced Celtic band out of Seattle, Washington. Green Energy is their sophomore release, impressive in it’s diversity, depth, and scope. The sound on this album ranges from traditional Celtic fiddle and percussion pieces, to folky Appalachian tunes, to outright rock guitar. Green Energy could easily have been a train wreck of clashing styles, but somehow it’s the opposite, a harmonious musical concoction that borders on addictive.
I love the progression of songs, it’s clear that a lot of thought went into the order that the tracks were arranged on the CD. From the teasing rock beat underneath the very traditional fiddle on the first track, The Wicked Jig, to the twangy John Brown’s Dream, (reminiscent of the Allman Brothers) to the haunting and lovely final tune, The Fiddler’s Lament, this is an album that takes you on a well defined journey, and leaves you wishing you could have traveled a bit farther.
The somewhat cryptically named Brenden McGlinchey’s (Brenden McGlinchey’s what?)* guitar intro wouldn’t be a hair out of place preceding a rock ballad, then the addition of alluring fiddle and a melancholic bass line turns all of my expectations
upside down. At all of two minutes and ten seconds, this song is one of my favorites.
Anyone who reads here often knows that I am not a big fan of the twang. However, I have been known to make exceptions, and I’m making one for Within A Mile Of Dublin. It’s twangy, it’s out of my comfort zone, it’s the sort of song I usually whine
bitterly about. Well, I can’t do it. It fits so well with the rest of the album, and adds such a taste of je ne sais quoi that I like it in spite of myself.
Just to prove that I’m actually me and not a pod person, my least favorite track on the CD is Bunch of Keys. This song is not only overtaken by twanginess, it sounds absolutely frantic about it. There’s too much going on here and I don’t care for it.
Most of the tracks on Green Energy are relatively short, many less than three minutes long, only one over four minutes, and that by a mere second. The Irish Experience shows that when your music is good enough, there’s no need to muck about with it. Quality wins over quantity here, and I admire a band that leaves me wanting more. Check out this CD if you love instrumental music that is awesome enough to make you think vocals are simply extraneous.
If you want to grab a copy of Green Energy for yourself, you can always go over and 
at CD Baby. If you want to find out more about The Irish Experience, you can find them at www.myspace.com/irishexperience
*On a serious note, I’m guessing that this is a nod to Brenden McGlinchey, the Armagh City born fiddler and composer, most well known for his album Music of a Champion.
