The Spook of the Thirteenth Lock
The Spook of the Thirteenth Lock is music from Dublin, Ireland. Named after a poem about a haunted canal lock, The Spook play in the Irish folk tradition delving into the realms of psych, prog and post rock. Sometimes a single player, a folk trio or a full electric band, the Spook have a unique take on the idea of Irish folk rock, making the familiar sound innovative, the ancient new, and the local sound universal.
To date they have released a critically acclaimed self titled debut album on Transduction Records and played numerous concerts around Ireland, including performances at the Electric Picnic and Hard Working Class Heroes festivals and completed a Japanese tour in February this year.
Shifting gears effortlessly from folk to drone atmospherics to full-on psychedelic rock, the band – Allen Blighe (vocals, guitar, banjo), Donnchadh Hoey (guitar), Enda Bates (bass) and Brian O’Higgins (drums) – have crafted a space-tinged Celtic sound that is hauntingly beautiful.
The album’s strong allegorical overtones bring to the surface themes of bitterness, disillusionment, national identity and loss of faith – set against a richly imaginative historical background on songs like “The Hare” and “Pimlico”.
Elsewhere, the centre piece tune “The Partisan” finds its musical inspiration from Macedonian folk while remembering partisans of Italian folklore; and on the album’s epic closing moment “The Ragged Rock”, a twisted, jagged version of Sean Nós evolves into a kraut-rock freak out, eventually descending into a feedback-soaked howl. A suitable ending to a dramatic journey.
“Irish album of the year” – News of the World
“intergalactic Irish-tinged post-rock and sacred and secular folk” – Pop Matters
“an album that combines vitality, bold vision and vivid imagination. Time to ditch those tired old Celtic-rock retreads. This is the real stuff” – Rock and Reel
“One of the best pieces of contemporary Irish rock music we’ve heard in an age” – The Irish Times
“The best album I have heard from Ireland since Fionn Regan’s ‘The End Of History’ and like that masterpiece this a record that is exceptionally beautiful and inspired yet truly deeply disturbed” – Americana UK
“Haunted, rabble rousing folk” – Evening Herald
“the best tunes are wrapped in the kind of guitar blizzard mostly associated with Sixteen Horsepower or early Dirty Three” – Uncut
“Irish album of the year by a country mile (with hairpin bends every 15 yards), haunting doesn’t even begin to describe it” – MP3 Hugger
“Heart-pounding Pogues-esque moments, My Bloody Valentine’s fuzzy logic, indie guitar crescendos and Nick Cave’s solitary confinement rock…wonderful work” – State
