For fans of Bob Dylan and The Undertones, listen up! This new release from The Winter Codes is the one for you. Released on August 1st, ‘Set The Darkness Reeling’ is the quintessential folk/punk album from the minds of Blood Or Whiskey founder, Barney Murray and expert musician, David Walshe – with great lyrics and upbeat music, this has peaked the interest of fans of the genre and fans of the Irish duo alike.
The release of ‘Set The Darkness Reeling’ follows up the release of the album’s lead single, ‘Too Sly to Die’, which is a quintessential Irish folk song with the perfect amount of punk thrown in. With cutting lyrics and outstanding music, it served as the perfect taster for what to expect from the album – classic Irish folk elements with punk tendencies, it’s mixed together with a cultivated skill and knowledge in music. With music that delivers on every promise that the single made, this album serves as not only their latest release, but also a fantastic example of musical ability.
‘Set The Darkness Reeling’ starts with ‘North Circular Road’, a song that tells a great story with music that underlines it all perfectly – fast drums, bouncy guitar and the classic sound of a fipple flute tells you everything this album is going to be – an album that tells stories with great, traditional Irish folk music to accompany it all. The same style can be attributed to ‘Friend in Tullamore’ and ‘Erin’s Lovely Lee’ too, showing that their style is as consistent as it is impressive, giving any fan of Irish folk music reasons to be excited.
Although a traditional style on the album is clear, what Winter Codes do so well is changing styles in their own unique way that keep within the traditional folk style, but take it in a slightly different direction – take songs such as ‘Skibbereen’, an acapella of what could be an Irish folk song, has lyrics and vocals that need no music; the song is as raw and bare as can be, with the echoes of every last word serving as the backdrop for the next. A great acapella song that is followed up by the lead single, ‘Too Sly to Die’, which showcases their diverse approach to the folk/punk genre.
With collaborations with Daithi Meila from Irish/Bluegrass band Jig Jam, folk singer Lisa Loughrey and engineer Sean Montgomery, ‘Set The Darkness Rising’ is an album worth anyone’s attention. Full with classic Irish folk with originality and a change in style that is to be admired, this album is not to be missed!
