cara dillon: hill of thieves (2009)

Cara Dillon
Hill Of Thieves •••½
Charcoal

Taking its name from the English translation of Benbradagh, the hill that surrounds her native town of Dungiven in County Derry, Hill Of Thieves is a delightfully earthy return for award-winning Irish folk singer Cara Dillon. A lot has changed in the three years since Dillon’s last album After The Morning; she left her label Rough Trade after they cancelled that album’s second single, she and husband Sam Lakeman started up their own imprint (Charcoal Records) and, perhaps most significantly, she gave birth to twin boys after a traumatic early labour, three months premature, that started while she was on stage performing. After easing her way back into music with last year’s gorgeous Redcastle Sessions DVD, which saw her explore her own family heritage and music, Hill Of Thieves was wrapped in the late summer of 2008 and went on sale almost immediately at her live shows, of which there have been many in the lead up to this week’s general release.

On their own budget, it’s no wonder that Hill Of Thieves is a much sparser affair than After The Morning. Gone are the expensive flourishes of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra; the songs here are comparatively basic, but that doesn’t mean they’re not up to scratch. Quite the contrary. Sam Lakeman’s production is near impeccable and the musicianship so tight and structured that not a single note is errantly placed. While there is certainly a case against music that sounds too perfect, too clean, Dillon’s ensemble has retained the necessary magic to blunt that vagrant switchblade. With only the title track springing forth from Dillon’s own pen, Hill Of Thieves is thick with elements of traditional folk music, but her energy and pristine phrasing add a modern twist to even the more established classics she’s chosen.

‘The Hill Of Thieves’ is a great start to the album and shows just how adept Dillon has become at writing original songs that blend almost indistinguishably with the traditional material. Lakeman manages to inject a good rhythm into the song without losing the sense of mystery so beautifully accented by bodhrán and lilting uilleann pipes. Even the lengthy medley of ‘P Stands For Paddy / Lament For Johnny’ well and truly ensnares your attention, evading repetition by building up and up to a joyful conclusion. Other highlights are a modern take on ‘Spencer The Rover’, a ravishing duet between Dillon and Seth Lakeman (brother-in-law, fellow songwriter and fiddler extraordinaire), and ‘Johnny, Lovely Johnny’, a deceptively lively song from the point of view of a jilted woman.

There are moments where the band succumb to the folkies’ folly of throwing in too many instruments; ‘The Lass Of Glenshee’ and ‘Jimmy Mo Mhile Stor’ seem slightly overloaded, especially the latter which compares unfavourably when pinned between the spare piano-led renditions of ‘False, False’ and ‘She Moves Through The Fair’. Here, Dillon’s passionate vocals seem to jar a bit with the energetic playing and the effect of both is dampened. It all comes back to purity in the end, however, with a shimmeringly a cappella version of ‘Fil, Fil A Run Ó’, sung entirely in Gaelic and single-handedly embodying all the mystery and magic of the album as a whole.

Folk musicians of Cara Dillon’s ilk rarely cross over to the mainstream but she’s been threatening to do it for years, on her own terms, wisely consigning those early Corrs comparisons to the firepile. It would be wrong to say that Dillon’s vocals are haunting, even though there are moments where they send a chill down your spine; instead, her voice talks to you like the comforting tones of an old friend. Unavoidably, you will be drawn in by her voice to the point that it feels like it is simply you and Cara in the room. Hill Of Thieves may be less pop flavoured, and its potential beyond the Radio 2 audience therefore limited, but it’s undoubtedly a work of beauty and her best and most consistent album to date. 

Katherine Stanton
UK release date: 26/01/09; www.myspace.com/caradillon

 

‘P Stands For Paddy’

[youtube=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WoM-bFNxc0Y]

‘The Verdant Braes Of Skreen’

[youtube=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=K07SNDcQc28]

Written by: Wears The Trousers magazine

Tags: cara dillon, katherine stanton, sam lakeman, seth lakeman

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 29th, 2009 at 2:53 am and is filed under albums & EPs, reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.