I Draw Slow - White Wave Chapel

The third album from this five-piece Dublin string band sees them further hone their increasingly confident and distinctive blend of American bluegrass and Irish sensibility into something special – a kind of greengrass, perhaps. What was once hesitant now sounds assured, and that spine of American folk and bluegrass seems a perfect fit for these tales of loss and losing. The songs are mostly rooted in the percussive sound of driving double bass, fiddle and claw-hammer banjo, notably All Souls and Bread & Butter. But they can also display more subtle shades: Souvenirs, Grand Hotel, Springtime, Old Wars and the single Valentine all carry that IDS signature of mystery and melody, new takes on familiar terrain.