puzzledgoal

puzzledgoal OP t1_jaor58w wrote

I think of it as progressive as Lankum are expanding the existing boundaries of the form by introducing elements of metal, post-rock, doom etc.

It’s experimental and the song structures and production aren’t like any other in Irish folk. They take traditional songs and turn them into something entirely new (eg their version of The Wild Rover).

Compared to much Irish folk music, which can be strongly traditional and sometimes conservative.

A bit like how the Pogues reshaped Irish music by introducing a punk ethos (the Lynch brothers were in a punk band back in the day afaik). Not comparable to the cartoonish Irish-American bands.

They are also strongly political in their song choice and their own lyrics, whether singing about anti-fascism, colonialism, inequality or youth suicide. I see them as this kind of progressive too.

That’s why I think they’re such a special band and the most exciting in Irish folk music since the Pogues. Sorry for the long response but wanted to explain my own thoughts.

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puzzledgoal OP t1_jaj4lp4 wrote

They are brilliant. Don’t know if you heard Ian Lynch’s solo project One Leg One Eye but it’s even darker. https://nyahhrecords.bandcamp.com/album/and-take-the-black-worm-with-me

He also has a podcast Fire Draw Near where he does a deep dive into Irish folk music: https://m.soundcloud.com/firedrawnear/died-for-love-the-butcher-boy

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