Album Review: Orwells '84, The Crucible

Orwells '84 intercept themselves at the junction of many musical genres, traversing the categories of folk or indie with carefree vigour. The Dundalk sextet, originally the brainchild of Damien McKenna, have made a strong mark of intent with their new album The Crucible.

Inspired by the free spirit of Yoko Ono and John Lennon’s Plastic Ono band, the group’s lineup, recruited by McKenna, consists of guitarist and long-time friend Sean Byrne, cellist Ella Englishby, musicians and producers Peter McCoy, Pauric McCrum and renowned trad fiddle player, Roisin Ward Morrow.

Having previously performed with the likes of David Keenan, Nix Moon, Myles McCormack from Belfast group Lonesome George and Finnian, this latest offering, The Crucible, characterises itself by its own definition; “a situation of severe trial, or in which different elements interact, leading to the creation of something new.”

Rather than a collection of songs, the sextet have managed to create a cohesive piece of art, with each of the record’s tracks moving with a fluidity that colours each song with rumination and emotion.

Kicking off the record is the invigorated classic rock track, ‘Wake Up!' Infused with a distinctive traditional Irish sound, the sextet’s opener immediately alerts audiences to the unique blend of influences that this band have curated as their own sound. The almost-anthemic tune’s carefully curated fusion steers it away from a single definitive genre.

Bowie, Elbow and The Beatles are just some of the contemporaries Orwells ‘84 have drawn upon in this album, as can be heard in proceeding tracks ‘Another Life’ and ‘Are We Brother?’. Each contains an infectious 60s flair that bleeds through each track. The simplistic care-free mantra of ‘Another Life’s’ “And with a flick of a knife” is a wonderful throwback sound, reminiscent of Flogging Molly or The Pogue’s Pogue Mahone.

With ‘Tomorrow (Maybe I’ll Feel Alright)’ the group is simply showing off their musicality at this stage, with beautifully-honed harmonies over laid into the track’s second verse.

Pressing pause on the conventional song format, ‘The Social Contract’ is more than simply a spoken song set to music, but a three-minute long social introspection that’s set to music brimming with emotion, echoing the toll of numerous lockdowns.

“Pavements pounding on the foot distracts from the viewer’s attention from the rapid fire/ rank and file, whose gaze is locked on screens four inches in front of their face.”

Another evolution in the sextet’s sound comes in the form of ‘Symposium’, diverging into a latent form of soft Celtic punk with thrashing cymbals and traditional Irish instrumentation and motifs.

‘Close by the River’ is impressively moving. The group’s profound narrative ability to illustrate the hardship of day to day life that exists among the mundane is remarkable. “A pot boils away as the children still play… A mother adores, a father ignores/ a child that runs riot and screams in the halls.”

Without a doubt, ‘The Border and the Mistress’, is the album’s standout song. A soundscape infused with a traditional Irish sound, and a politically-charged theme - the song’s writer McKenna professes his love for his border hometown of Dundalk, and celebrates that same feeling for the heroine of this story.

Regarded as the band’s seminal work to date, ‘The Border and the Mistress’ cleverly utilises phrasing like “The city lights sit with their heroes/ With Zimmer Frames clenched to their palms” breathing a lyrical originality into their already unique sound.

Refusing to conform to the placation of genre-labelling, The Crucible has uncovered what many musicians spend a lifetime working towards - the ability to create feel-good music that carries vital social commentary. Orwells ‘84 do not disappoint.

Listen: ‘The Border and the Mistress’
Score: 7.5/10

Out now, self-released.