The new compilation from Faction Records is an impressive and heartening sign that the Irish music scene may be the place to invest (if not your money, at least your hopes and dreams).
Although many of the bands here seem, on paper, to come from very different worlds (from Johnny Flynn’s folk, to Autamata’s electronica, to Dark Room Notes' new wave pop) there’s a strong thread of continuity running through the record. And the unifying principal is a certain kind of tight musical economy. It’s like there’s a musical recession on – a lack of liquidity in the quaver market, the crotchet price is down, the minims are at risk of collapsing – and here we find ten acts trying to do more with less. It’s as if the minister for rock has said – “we need to tighten our guitar straps” and the people have responded with Blitz spirit and musical fortitude. So not a note is wasted. The best tracks here are Johnny Flynn’s folktastic ‘The Box’, Fred’s epiphany-inducing ‘The Lights’, and Dark Room Notes' Breakfast Club soundtrackesque ‘Slow Puncture’. But generally the standard is pretty fine.
In most economic downturns, there’s always a danger that the beleaguered public will resort to populism and if so, hopefully they’ll find their musical expression right here. I think it’s time to reinvest in music.