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 plucks banjos and twangs guitars, he yelps and he drones and sings songs about doomed revolutionaries, brave partisans, corrupt politicians and constant struggle.
Live the Spook plays solo with guitar, banjo and effects or swells to full band with bass, guitars, drums.
The eponymous debut album see songs in the Irish folk tradition expanded into the realms of psych, prog and post rock, channelling amongst other things, the diverse yet kindred spirits of Lift to Experience, 16 Horsepower, Thin Lizzy and The Chieftains.
The Spook began in 2006 by Allen Blighe following the demise of the Holy Ghost Fathers, a Dublin-based outfit who released two albums on their own Microclique imprint. Seeking an outlet to combine a passion for traditional Irish forms along with modern-day rootsier influences, Blighe has crafted a space-tinged Celtic folk rock sound that is hauntingly beautiful.
Aided by The Spook band and the able production of multi-instrumentalist Enda Bates, the debut album shifts gears effortlessly, careening from folk ballads to drone atmospherics to full-on psychedelic rock. The band is completed by ex-Steerage members Donnchadh Hoey (guitar) and Brian O’Higgins (drums).
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.
“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
Discography:
The Spook of the Thirteenth Lock (Transduction, 2008)
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