Homage

THE AFTERNOONS: “Homage” (Danceline Records)

The growing number of Irish artists deciding to record their own albums would suggest that it has finally dawned on the Irish music community that multi-national record companies based in Ireland have virtually nothing to contribute to the nurturing of Irish talent.

Let’s face it, most of the successes of the recent past have come from small independent Irish labels (Mary Black, Mick Hanly, A Woman’s Heart, etc). Even our Eurovision winner had to form her own label to release her record, and since then acts as varied, and as talented, as The Revenants, Marian Bradfield, Collins and Eades and Lir have all independently made their own worthy albums. And now comes this impressive debut from The Afternoons.

Of course if it’s rock’n’roll animals you're after, you're reading the wrong review. The Afternoons are for people who believe that Ricky Lee Jones is as loud as it really needs to get and that ‘Perfect’ by Fairground Attraction is probably the most accurately-titled song ever.

Perversely, those apparent weaknesses become strengths, since the band doesn’t try overly hard to rock out anyway, preferring to settle down at around seven on the Spinaltapometer, with their understated ensemble-playing enabling Denise Douglas’ smooth voice to sashay through a bunch of mainly-fine songs so nonchalantly as to suggest that, if really put to it, she could both sing and chew gum at the same time.

Nor should you let the presence of some ace violin-playing from Sarah Nelson or James Fletcher's earnest acoustic guitar fool you into thinking that this is just a bunch of surplus raggle-tagglers who missed the Connemara bus.

No, for a change you get an Irish band stubbornly following their own muse, eschewing the usual temptation to pile on all the overdubs in studio heaven, and giving the songs room to breathe, and the space to allow Tony Tyrell to toss in a bit of sax or clarinet, but nothing too wild, you understand. ‘Coffee Talk’ is particularly strong as are the title-track, ‘Sophie Said’, ‘Worlds Apart’ and ‘Predictable’, all eminently hummable after a couple of plays and all boasting meaningful, well thought-out lyrics that go way beyond the usual trite formulae.

Admittedly, about two-thirds of the way through you begin to wish for a little more animation in the playing and a little less of the sweet colleen in the vocals, while the overall lack of volume on the CD is disquieting. But, all in all, this is a highly commendable first outing from a band still in their musical infancy. Given half a chance, The Afternoons could quite easily make your day.

• Jackie Hayden