The Spook of the Thirteenth Lock
The Spook of the Thirteenth Lock is music from Dublin, Ireland. Named after a poem about a haunted canal lock, The Spook play in the Irish folk tradition while delving into the realms of psych, prog and post rock, making the familiar sound innovative, the ancient new, and the local sound universal.
The band will release a new album The Brutal Here and Now on Friday 13th April on Transduction Records. The follow-up to their self-titled debut was produced and recorded by veteran producer Stephen Shannon and Spook multi-instrumentalist Enda Bates.
The new album expands on the band’s fusion of Irish folk and experimental rock, absorbing the influence of traditional Indian and Italian music with a significantly broader palette of sounds, aided by guest musicians Adrian Harte (violin) and Kim Porcelli (cello). With songs written in English, Irish and Italian, The Brutal Here and Now finds lyricist Allen Blighe exploring the malleability of memory and history. From the frenzied opener “The Tarantella” through to the captivating title track and the rousing finale “The Rattling Hell”, The Brutal Here and Now captures The Spook at the height of their powers.
Since their well-received debut album, The Spook have played the length and breadth of the country, shared the stage with Donal Lunny and Andy Irvine and even toured Japan. The band, whose line-up has expanded to include Ronan Hayes on bass, are currently preparing for an Irish tour to coincide with the album’s release, kicking off at the Triskel Arts Centre in Cork on April 12th.
Praise for The Spook of the Thirteenth Lock’s debut album:
“Irish album of the year” – News of the World
“intergalactic Irish-tinged post-rock and sacred and secular folk” – Pop Matters
“an album that combines vitality, bold vision and vivid imagination. Time to ditch those tired old Celtic-rock retreads. This is the real stuff” – Rock and Reel
“One of the best pieces of contemporary Irish rock music we’ve heard in an age” – The Irish Times
“The best album I have heard from Ireland since Fionn Regan’s ‘The End Of History’ and like that masterpiece this a record that is exceptionally beautiful and inspired” – Americana UK
“This is as vital and progressive an Irish traditional album as there has been in the past decade” – Irish Examiner USA
“the best tunes are wrapped in the kind of guitar blizzard mostly associated with Sixteen Horsepower or early Dirty Three” – Uncut
“Irish album of the year by a country mile (with hairpin bends every 15 yards), haunting doesn’t even begin to describe it” – MP3 Hugger
“Heart-pounding Pogues-esque moments, My Bloody Valentine’s fuzzy logic, indie guitar crescendos and Nick Cave’s solitary confinement rock…wonderful work” – State
