I DRAW SLOW – White Wave Chapel (own label)

White Wave ChapelWhite Wave Chapel is the third album from Dublin-based quintet I Draw Slow, a band that I haven’t come across before probably because, not unreasonably, they have concentrated on building up their profile in the USA. I Draw Slow is an Irish string band.

Their instrumentation: guitar, banjo, fiddle and double bass, is equally suited to Irish traditional music and that of the Appalachians and although what they play is definitely Americana you can still hear the Irish roots. Their songs, with the exception of one traditional piece, are written by lead vocalist Louise Holden and her guitarist brother Dave and range from the wistful delicacy of ‘Souvenirs’ to the old-timey dance style of ‘Bread And Butter’.

The opening track, ‘All Souls’, is a real cracker. It’s a tale of a family schism, full of old-fashioned Southern feuding, set to a rocking country tune and it leads straight into ‘Don’t She Run’, another story of tangled emotions. ‘Now You’re Gone’ conjures up images of the American civil war both lyrically and musically – Adrian Hart plays some truly evocative fiddle parts. Some of the songs here could be stripped down and rebuilt in almost any form. ‘The Captain’ could be made authentically Irish very easily but ‘Grand Hotel’ might need more of a rewrite to be a powerful torch ballad. It’s a great lyric and the same is true of ‘Valentine’.

I Draw Slow have a label deal in the States which is essential to their ambitions and White Wave Chapel is available in physical form and as download from the band’s website everywhere else.

Dai Jeffries

This is the official video of ‘Souvenirs’:

Artists’ website: https://idrawslow.wordpress.com/