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ALBUM REVIEWS BRITISH FOLK MUSIC CELTIC FOLK MUSIC : HIEROGLYPHS THAT TELL THE TALE by Dave McNally 23 October, 2018

Karan Casey – Hieroglyphs That Tell the Tale

Vertical Records – 2 November 2018

hen I first listened to Hieroglyphs That Tell the Tale, I texted a friend to say that I W thought it could be Irish singer Karan Casey’s best album yet. After many, many listens, and the delight of listening again to her previous releases, I have to say that I was wrong – delete ‘could be’ and insert ‘is’. We first heard Karan’s exquisite voice on the exciting debut Solas album in 1996, quickly followed in 1997 by Songlines, her first solo album. Two more Solas albums and six solo ones followed, together with the classic Exile’s Return, a back to basics traditional album with former Solas bandmate John Doyle in 2010. The new album is as complete as it gets.

Hieroglyphs That Tell the Tale kicks off with a vivid take on ’s Ballad of Hollis Brown from his 1964 The Times They Are A-Changin’. The song is about a man who in despair at abject poverty takes a shotgun and shoots his five young children, his wife, and then himself. Things start simply enough, with understated, relaxed interplay between Séan Óg Graham’s very fine acoustic guitar, which is at the core of many of the tracks, and Dirk Powell’s banjo – Dirk’s playing lending a timeless, pensive quality. Karan’s vocal begins in similar unassuming style, but by halfway through, as the song builds towards its shocking conclusion, she sings with an increasing sense of urgency, almost despair. In parallel, the music builds like a coming storm, in particular, the driving banjo, string and bass. By the end, Karan leaves you in no doubt that this should not have happened.

Karan Casey, Niall Vallely, Niamh Dunne, Seán Óg Graham & Ryan Molloy

Down in the Glen, written by Karan, imagines a key moment in the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland, involving two women fighters whose contribution has previously gone virtually unrecognised and who were in a relationship for most of their adult lives. It is markedly traditional in style, lament-like (although both women survived) and with Mike McGoldrick adding distinctive, mournful flute. The singing is just sublime.

Karan Casey - Down in the Glen

Eliza Gilkyson wrote Man of God out of her frustration with the Bush administration using religion to justify prejudice, aiding the rich getting more prosperous and the war in Iraq; she won the Folk Alliance Awards Song of the Year 2005 for the song. Karan’s delivery is slightly faster, giving it greater insistence, aided by vocal support from Niamh Dunne. The rhythm section – with the peerless Ewan Vernal on bass and James MacKintosh on drums – wouldn’t sound out of place in Sun Studios in Memphis in the 1950s, and the punchy brass arrangements from trumpeter Ryan Quigley are impeccable.

The album’s title comes from Karan’s version of Janis Ian’s I’m Still Standing Here, a song about making it through some hard times and accepting women for who they are, not how they look. It is close in mood to Karen’s last album Two More Hours (2014), which was entirely self- penned, deeply personal and which Karan described as being about getting through things, in particular through grief following the death of her mother. A beautifully simple arrangement, with nimble piano from Donald Shaw, enhances Karan’s direct, heartfelt singing, which is in turn enriched with help from both Maura O’Connell and . In Janis Ian words: “Really lovely version of my song by Karan Casey… lucky me!”

An easy, funky backbeat – reminiscent of Yellow Moon era Neville Brothers – leads into one of the album’s two traditional songs, Sixteen Come Next Sunday. The song comes from Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill and is on The Bothy Band’s second, 1976, album, Old Hag You Have Killed Me. It is quite breath-taking how well such a musical arrangement marries with a traditional song. It is sung, for the most part, in traditional style but with a little jazz scat singing thrown in for good measure, with atmospheric, improvisational concertina from Niall Vallely weaving in and out.

Karan Casey, Niall Vallely, Niamh Dunne, Seán Óg Graham & Ryan Molloy A deep human empathy shines through on In The Gutter written by . Mick is a singer and songwriter who Karan has worked with on previous albums. The song is about someone going through difficult times, shaped by homelessness and alcohol, and has bewilderment at its core: “But you know I think, the more you think, the less you understand. And the more I try to get things right the less that go as planned”. A quietly majestic, slowly swaying arrangement underpins Karan’s dignified vocal – consummately handling some tricky key changes – well supported by Pauline Scanlon.

You’re The Doll In Cash’s Window, is a traditional song discovered by singer Jimmy Crowley. It is, Jimmy has said: “a ‘dandling song’, which parents would sing to a cranky baby, with perhaps teething problems. You wouldn’t want to put the baby to sleep. You’d just want to entertain it”. Dance to your Daddy is another dandling song. Karan’s singing is bright and irresistible, sounding like she is having great fun and it will, almost certainly, keep your baby awake. The accompaniment is suitably upbeat and rhythmic, with a perfect match, in sync flute/concertina break from Mike McGoldrick and Niall Vallely.

Everything about Hieroglyphs That Tell the Tale is flawless: the choice of songs, most with contemporary relevance; the guest vocals that compliment Karan’s singing superbly but never detract from it; Karan’s singing, which has developed more depth and steadfastness; the musicianship, which is what you’d expect from those involved – adaptable, brilliant but completely unobtrusive; the musical arrangements, which are richly varied, delightfully subtle and, I would go so far as to say, -esque – Donald Shaw at his very, very best.

It is axiomatic that when you’re reviewing something you have to find words that describe your overall view of it. Hieroglyphs That Tell the Tale is so wonderful that words really can’t do it justice. As Robert McFarlane said in his book Landmarks, about words that describe a landscape, we don’t always need words: “Language is always late for its subject. Sometimes …I just say ‘wow’”. Listen and be wowed. Her best album yet.

Order via Amazon http://www.karancasey.com

KARAN CASEY

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DAVE MCNALLY

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