Folk Column: The no bell prize
Folk and trad news by Greg McAteer.
Greg McAteer, 18 Sep 2007
Being part of one of the country’s biggest bands just isn’t enough anymore, is it. No, no, no, no, no. You have to make a solo album don’t you? Well you certainly do if you’re David Geraghty [pictured].
Having completed the album/tour/bloody big gig/live album cycle with Bell X1 he has decided it’s high time to explore his own personal musical leanings, which are considerably more lo-fi and gloriously creaky (in a good way – I like creaky). Over the course of his time with Bell X1 he had been collecting songs and decided it was time to take the leap and release a solo record. Although the lead single ‘Fear The Hitcher’ was entirely performed by Geraghty on his own (he originally absorbed into the then Juniper on the basis that he was a cracking multi-instrumentalist) the rest of Kill Your Darlings - a ten-track personal reflection that tips its dark, broody hat to the work of Buckley, Martyn and Drake - features a band made up of a bevvy of talented collaborators including the astonishingly voiced Clare Finglass, who previously graced our stages as part of Matt Lunson’s live band and who uses her Julie London-style dusty tones to great effect on these recordings.
The ‘Fifth Wall’ Marc Aubele injects some very stylish and understated keyboards, drummer Kevin Brady and double bass man Dave Redmond inject a smoky, backroom feel; and Cora Venus Lunny adds majestic violas and violins. It’s a very assured performance and the years of stagecraft picked up round the large venues he’s used to playing with Bell X1 are put to good effect in the more intimate surrounding in which he’ll be promoting this new release. He only unleashes the banjo very sparingly on one track, but there is a deliciously old-timey feel to the proceedings generally.
Although there isn’t anything you could specifically point at as a launch gig, there will be plenty of opportunities to see him play the album live (I saw the warm up and believe me, you don’t want to miss this) as he plays the Beamish Experience in Cork on Saturday September 22, deBarra’s in Clonakilty the following evening, Galway’s Roisin Dubh on Monday September 24 before heading for Dublin where he plays Whelan's on Thursday September 27. The final date of the tour is upstairs in Dolan’s of Limerick on Saturday September 29. He is also proving his work ethic by playing an incredible number of record shop in-stores, so check out your local – he may well be coming to pay a visit.
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