This listener always got the impression that Kíla frontman Rónán Ó Snodaigh could have been born at any time in the last 1000 years or so and he’d still be doing exactly what he does today. Part wandering minstrel, part new age troubadour, Ó Snodaigh is in many ways the living embodiment of Turlough O’Carolan and Bob Marley. His music is similarly difficult to categorise, fusing elements of traditional Irish instrumentation with dub, reggae and African rhythms. One song here, ‘Tigh Mo Mháthair’ is actually translated from a Gabriel Aresti poem, originally in Basque.
The Last Mile Home is Ó Snodaigh’s most accessible record to date. For the most part, he eschews the complicated arrangements of previous releases, preferring to concentrate on the simple power of guitar and vocals. Songs like the plaintive ‘Samurai’, the aching ‘Pinocchio’, the pleading ‘Night Song’ and the countrified ‘Long Time Dead’ are more by-the-book singer-songwriter fare than before, although the latter track in particular has enough raw Ó Snodaigh soul to keep diehard Kíla fans satisfied, as he preaches the kind of positivity that has always inhabited his band’s best work, whatever language they sing in. On other songs, such as the dub-influenced ‘Dancin’, Rónán’s vocal is primarily a percussion instrument, driving the melody incessantly forward.
Then there’s the ridiculously catchy ‘The Wolf Song’, whose melody and chorus will attach its limpet-like suckers to the inside of your cranium and invade your thoughts for hours on end. Here, and on the sublime title track, Rónán’s voice sounds richer than on any Kíla release, possessed of a world-weary timbre that’s more Tom Waits than Christy Moore: the incredible ‘Raise The Road’ could actually be a Waits cover version, albeit without the bells, whistles and vocal effects that characterise the great man’s recent output.
Perhaps less wilfully eclectic than some of his previous outputs, The Last Mile Home will still be far from an easy listen for the majority, but for those hardy enough to stay with it over repeated listens, the rewards are plentiful.