The Young Folk

"TECHNOLOGY to wipe out truth is now available," noted Bob Dylan on his World Gone Wrong album 20 years ago.

That was a collection of old songs from the folk and blues tradition. Dylan, a proven barometer of cultural weather, was concerned that most contemporary popular music was short on insight and epiphany.

"When the cost (of technology) comes down there won't be songs like these any more," he warned.

Luckily, not every act today subscribes to willful showbiz self-delusion, aiming for their 15 minutes.

hipsters

The case of Dublin quintet The Young Folk is worthy of note. They might appear to have made a rod for their own backs by choosing a name that flies in the face of music marketing conventions. After all, while beard-stroking hipsters and media sages are happy to pay lip service to the folk tradition, most regard the genre as something to be tucked away between Ceilidh House and the Farming Report.

But this is an accomplished musical aggregate that join the microdots between Villagers, Noah & The Whale and old Greenwich Village Kweskin Jug Band. This is folk in Cuban heels.

Impressive instrumentalists, this bunch have the ability to always do the right thing. Their harmonies are thrilling and in frontman Anthony Furey they have a voice of bruised authority.

blush

It's a modern thing delivered with an array of sounds that has been rescued from the hands of well-meaning dullards with banjos. Drummer Karl Hand displays the musical suss of a young Levon Helm. Karen Hickey's violin accompaniment would make Scarlet Rivera blush with envy.

There's blurred heartache at the core of this repertoire. Many of the songs including, Letters ("I promise you I'll never give up...") and the spiritually reassuring Way Home, have infectious choruses.

Comparison with Mumford & Sons confirms their appeal, as well as presenting cause for some concern. Other than that, this busy touring band, just back from the US and Italy, have it nailed. HHHII - EAMON CARR - Herald

"Later on, The Young Folk were a revelation. Part Fleet Foxes, the sterling vocals were the pinnacle of a set bursting with a rousing underbelly that demanded attention - this is a band more than capable of making a big breakthrough." - Bryan O'Hanlon (Stop The Lights)

Hot press Magazine describe them as "serious challengers for the area populated by the likes of Fleet Foxes, Midlake and The Low Anthem." (Oliver Sweeney) - Hot press Magazine

Dubliner Magazine labelled them as “a unique prospect”, “one of the most promising young Irish bands of recent years (Eamon Carr), not because of their impressive resume, but because of the raw energy and passion they bring to the stage" - Dubliner Magazine

Meeting up with Anthony Furey in The Globe after work for a few quick words before the launch of their latest single ‘Sad Day’, he filled DPIK in on whats happening for the next few months for Ireland’s latest troubadour…

DPIK: Obvious question, but what was it like growing up in the Furey household?

Anthony Furey: Everyone asks that question [laughs] but I didn’t pick up on music until later on like. There was a lot of music gatherings and parties ’round my house, and I just sat back, kinda enjoyed it. Then I picked up guitar when I was seventeen and I went from there.

DPIK: …So you knew from your late teens that this was for you?

AF: I was into more sports and stuff like that when I was younger, I didn’t want to go in the music direction, but it really comes down to that my whole family are in it.

DPIK: “The Young Folk”, how did that one come about?

AF: By accident [laughs] that’s exactly how it was. I don’t know where it came from, it was ‘Anthony Furey and the Folk’, then we said nah that doesn’t sound the best, we’ll just throw Young Folks in there, even though we’re all old enough.

DPIK: Drop D labelled your music in the same vein as Damien Rice and Glen Hansard esque style of singer songwriter, you happy with those comparisons?

AF: I don’t mind, I’ve been called worst things, but ah no, I love Damien Rice, and Glen Hansard is a great songwriter.

DPIK: Moving onto the album, where it recorded?

AF: We started in Salt Studios in Sutton with Frank Xavier, then we moved onto another lad, that has been dealing with Super Extra Bonus Party and RSAG, called John Corcoran, we went with him then in the end, and he mixed it, then me and him ended up in New York in February, and we were looking for someone to get it mastered. We met a few people, took a chance really and one of the lads that mastered one of albums, we got in touch with him,and he said he was available, but in the end it was too much money. Then we got in touch with another lad called Joe Lambert who mastered a few Johnny Cash things and Bright Eyes and he deals a lot with the Animal Collective, and surprisingly we got him cheap enough.

DPIK: And were there any guest appearances on the album?

AF: Well, not really guest appearances but eh, Davey Arthur put a bit of mandolin down which was nice.

DPIK: Sad Day is to be the second lifted off your album, if I’m right, will we be seeing any more single released from it…

AF: I’d say one more, or we’re looking to re-release the first single [Biscuit], cos it was more of a secret single, we didn’t do anything with it, that’s the thing, I only got back from America that morning of the single launch. We got the singles [back from pressing] that day so there was no push or no press or nothing like that.

DPIK: And the album was all self funded?

AF: Yeah, I owe nothing to the banks [laughs]

DPIK: And where is the album available?

AF: At the moment, I only just released it in Tower [Records] about three weeks ago, for some reason at the start I was thinking to myself I’d love to get rid of the album like under the table to people. It was just confidence [issue] back then, but now its out in Tower. I wanna release it in Road [Records] as well, have to get in touch with them and also it will be available on iTunes in a week or two.

DPIK: What comes first for you, the lyrics or the music?

AF: Lyrics, now. Music back then. Arrive home after a good night out, and stuff just comes to ya, or in the morning when ya have a sore head, it just comes to ya.

DPIK: What is your favourite song to play live?

AF: Play live? Eh I like the song, ‘I’ve Been Here Before’, really simple song. You see, we’re working on a lot more vocals for it now, lot more harmony vocals ya know. Yeah, love it, definitely my favourite song.

DPIK: And what can people expect at a Anthony Furey & The Young Folks gig?

AF: Jaysus, anything. Everything [laughs]. We’ve started to actually mess with a few toys, which is cool, we’re only started that now though, We got the gig on Friday [4th June, Whelans] and we’re going to bring a few toys with us for that. But we go from normal acoustic singer songwriter stuff to, as I said on Myspace, a hoedown.

DPIK: You just played Vantastival, how did that go for you?

AF: Really good. That many people arrived, it was like a miniature Electric Picnic, I loved it, just all the fans and all the people that went, it was just so nice.

DPIK: Any plans for outside of Ireland?

AF: Yeah, we’ve got a few things lined up for England, and we’re still working on getting a nice little tour. We’re going to do that, and I lived in Holland for a while so getting a few dates there and our drummer lived in Germany so we’re using our contacts.

DPIK: And what’s your plans for the rest of the summer?

AF: Festivals! To be honest with ya, we haven’t got a lot of money to be booking our own gigs and venues are charging too much. So we said right we’ll j - Barry Montgomery – Irish Music Journalist

Meeting up with Anthony Furey in The Globe after work for a few quick words before the launch of their latest single ‘Sad Day’, he filled DPIK in on whats happening for the next few months for Ireland’s latest troubadour…

DPIK: Obvious question, but what was it like growing up in the Furey household?

Anthony Furey: Everyone asks that question [laughs] but I didn’t pick up on music until later on like. There was a lot of music gatherings and parties ’round my house, and I just sat back, kinda enjoyed it. Then I picked up guitar when I was seventeen and I went from there.

DPIK: …So you knew from your late teens that this was for you?

AF: I was into more sports and stuff like that when I was younger, I didn’t want to go in the music direction, but it really comes down to that my whole family are in it.

DPIK: “The Young Folk”, how did that one come about?

AF: By accident [laughs] that’s exactly how it was. I don’t know where it came from, it was ‘Anthony Furey and the Folk’, then we said nah that doesn’t sound the best, we’ll just throw Young Folks in there, even though we’re all old enough.

DPIK: Drop D labelled your music in the same vein as Damien Rice and Glen Hansard esque style of singer songwriter, you happy with those comparisons?

AF: I don’t mind, I’ve been called worst things, but ah no, I love Damien Rice, and Glen Hansard is a great songwriter.

DPIK: Moving onto the album, where it recorded?

AF: We started in Salt Studios in Sutton with Frank Xavier, then we moved onto another lad, that has been dealing with Super Extra Bonus Party and RSAG, called John Corcoran, we went with him then in the end, and he mixed it, then me and him ended up in New York in February, and we were looking for someone to get it mastered. We met a few people, took a chance really and one of the lads that mastered one of albums, we got in touch with him,and he said he was available, but in the end it was too much money. Then we got in touch with another lad called Joe Lambert who mastered a few Johnny Cash things and Bright Eyes and he deals a lot with the Animal Collective, and surprisingly we got him cheap enough.

DPIK: And were there any guest appearances on the album?

AF: Well, not really guest appearances but eh, Davey Arthur put a bit of mandolin down which was nice.

DPIK: Sad Day is to be the second lifted off your album, if I’m right, will we be seeing any more single released from it…

AF: I’d say one more, or we’re looking to re-release the first single [Biscuit], cos it was more of a secret single, we didn’t do anything with it, that’s the thing, I only got back from America that morning of the single launch. We got the singles [back from pressing] that day so there was no push or no press or nothing like that.

DPIK: And the album was all self funded?

AF: Yeah, I owe nothing to the banks [laughs]

DPIK: And where is the album available?

AF: At the moment, I only just released it in Tower [Records] about three weeks ago, for some reason at the start I was thinking to myself I’d love to get rid of the album like under the table to people. It was just confidence [issue] back then, but now its out in Tower. I wanna release it in Road [Records] as well, have to get in touch with them and also it will be available on iTunes in a week or two.

DPIK: What comes first for you, the lyrics or the music?

AF: Lyrics, now. Music back then. Arrive home after a good night out, and stuff just comes to ya, or in the morning when ya have a sore head, it just comes to ya.

DPIK: What is your favourite song to play live?

AF: Play live? Eh I like the song, ‘I’ve Been Here Before’, really simple song. You see, we’re working on a lot more vocals for it now, lot more harmony vocals ya know. Yeah, love it, definitely my favourite song.

DPIK: And what can people expect at a Anthony Furey & The Young Folks gig?

AF: Jaysus, anything. Everything [laughs]. We’ve started to actually mess with a few toys, which is cool, we’re only started that now though, We got the gig on Friday [4th June, Whelans] and we’re going to bring a few toys with us for that. But we go from normal acoustic singer songwriter stuff to, as I said on Myspace, a hoedown.

DPIK: You just played Vantastival, how did that go for you?

AF: Really good. That many people arrived, it was like a miniature Electric Picnic, I loved it, just all the fans and all the people that went, it was just so nice.

DPIK: Any plans for outside of Ireland?

AF: Yeah, we’ve got a few things lined up for England, and we’re still working on getting a nice little tour. We’re going to do that, and I lived in Holland for a while so getting a few dates there and our drummer lived in Germany so we’re using our contacts.

DPIK: And what’s your plans for the rest of the summer?

AF: Festivals! To be honest with ya, we haven’t got a lot of money to be booking our own gigs and venues are charging too much. So we said right we’ll j - Barry Montgomery – Irish Music Journalist

Despite, or perhaps because of, their overwhelming popularity in this country over the past decade, “singer-songwriter” is almost a dirty word these days. It is seen to symbolise bland, whiny commercial dirge-mongers ploughing a familiar yet unimaginative furrow with no sense of innovation or adventure, good perhaps, to service the tired and emotional after particularly messy bank holiday weekends, but little else. Which is a shame, because, as this remarkably assured debut from Dubliner Anthony Furey and his various cohorts shows, there is still a lot of life to be teased out of the old form yet.
Anthony Furey The Young Folk Anthony Furey & The Young Folk, Ive Been Here Before


Lead single Biscuits showcases Furey’s knack for a simple tune, building its beautifully understated single line melody towards a climactic tour de force ending without ever becoming overblown. The more fragile Grafton St. pulls a similar trick, as does Adjust, a rumination on the end of a relationship reminiscent of Damien Rice but without his toe-curling tendency towards self-loathing.

Indeed, there is no escaping Furey’s indebtedness to the past decade’s glut of Irish singer-songwriters, and songs like the Glen Hansard-esque Hold On might well invoke a a few knowing sneers from the hipster brigade. Nonetheless, the quality of the material generally renders such concerns churlish, and there are a few welcome detours into less well travelled territtory, such a the countrified likes of Way Home and Sad Day, or the Fleet Foxes-style nu-folk of My Friends, while the jazz infused piano and wheezing violin of Hold Her Down recalls some of Ryan Adam‘s darker work.

While not the most original of albums, the surefootedness of I’ve Been Here Before marks Anthony Furey out as a songwriter who does the simple things rather beautifully, and that is becoming an all too rare skill these days. As long as there are bank holiday hangovers, we will always need albums like this.

Drop-d Rating 8/10 - Connor Maloney (Drop-D)

Despite, or perhaps because of, their overwhelming popularity in this country over the past decade, “singer-songwriter” is almost a dirty word these days. It is seen to symbolise bland, whiny commercial dirge-mongers ploughing a familiar yet unimaginative furrow with no sense of innovation or adventure, good perhaps, to service the tired and emotional after particularly messy bank holiday weekends, but little else. Which is a shame, because, as this remarkably assured debut from Dubliner Anthony Furey and his various cohorts shows, there is still a lot of life to be teased out of the old form yet.
Anthony Furey The Young Folk Anthony Furey & The Young Folk, Ive Been Here Before


Lead single Biscuits showcases Furey’s knack for a simple tune, building its beautifully understated single line melody towards a climactic tour de force ending without ever becoming overblown. The more fragile Grafton St. pulls a similar trick, as does Adjust, a rumination on the end of a relationship reminiscent of Damien Rice but without his toe-curling tendency towards self-loathing.

Indeed, there is no escaping Furey’s indebtedness to the past decade’s glut of Irish singer-songwriters, and songs like the Glen Hansard-esque Hold On might well invoke a a few knowing sneers from the hipster brigade. Nonetheless, the quality of the material generally renders such concerns churlish, and there are a few welcome detours into less well travelled territtory, such a the countrified likes of Way Home and Sad Day, or the Fleet Foxes-style nu-folk of My Friends, while the jazz infused piano and wheezing violin of Hold Her Down recalls some of Ryan Adam‘s darker work.

While not the most original of albums, the surefootedness of I’ve Been Here Before marks Anthony Furey out as a songwriter who does the simple things rather beautifully, and that is becoming an all too rare skill these days. As long as there are bank holiday hangovers, we will always need albums like this.

Drop-d Rating 8/10 - Connor Maloney (Drop-D)