Tag: The Lost Day

Sometimes, you know by the track listing that you’ll enjoy an album. The Lost Day includes one of my all-time favourite songs in a list of generally familiar titles but that’s only the start. You have to consider the extraordinarily stylish musicianship of The Haar – Molly Donnery, Cormac Byrne, Adam Summerhayes and Murray Grainger. If you know The Ciderhouse Rebellion you’ll appreciate the improvisation skills of Adam and Murray and the ideas they can bring to a composition; add to them the bodhrán of Cormac Byrne and the extraordinary voice of Molly Donnery and the band is something special.

Their third album opens with ‘Spancil Hill’, the emigrant’s dream of home. If you don’t pay attention to the first line you might miss the dream reference until the reveal in the last verse. The Haar’s arrangement suggests that the singer is emerging from a less pleasant dream and reaching for something comforting. Or is that just me? ‘Óró Sé Do Bheatha’ Bhaile’ is the only Gaelic song in the set and its origins are obscure although it became known as a rebel song at the beginning of the last century. It shares some of its melody with ‘What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor’ which is a bit disconcerting but Adam’s strings are lovely and Cormac is well to the fore. The track develops into something of an extended workout.

‘The Lakes Of Pontchartrain’ and ‘Star Of The County Down’ are well-known, popular songs and the arrangements here are the most conventional on the album although The Haar subtly alter the metre of the latter. ‘Madam I’m A Darling’ is described as “good, old fashioned, dirty trad” by the band. It’s essentially a variant of ‘Spanish Lady’ or ‘Dublin City’ with elements of ‘Maids, When You’re Young’ and it’s taken at a tongue-twisting pace.

The favourite I mentioned earlier is ‘Anachie Gordon’ and it’s treated with suitable respect, notwithstanding Molly’s appropriately dramatic delivery. At nearly nine minutes it’s also the longest track on the record but never outstays its welcome. It would seem that Nic Jones is responsible for the best known version. After that ‘The Rocky Road To Dublin’ offers a little light relief from the tragedy.

I’ve always been in two minds about ‘The Galway Shawl’ which closes the album. One the one hand it’s overly sentimental but on the other it has tremendous appeal and a certain charm and it very quickly becomes an earworm. The Haar’s arrangement adds another dimension and, like their previous records, The Lost Day requires you to expect the unexpected for the first few listens

Dai Jeffries

Artists’ website: https://thehaar.ie/

‘Annachie Gordon’ – live: