CD Review - Tommy Hayes "A Room in the North"

Our Anzac cousins when discussing aberrations from the norm have a phrase " Sheila/Bruce has lost the plot". Such was my first impression on hearing this quirky and unusual work from Tommy Hayes. Others have told me, its becuase he is playing "primitive" instruments, I'm not totally convinced (shades of the emperors new clothes), after all ye can't get simpler than a bodhran and a six holed whistle can ye ( yes -Ed).However, Tommy is a percussionist, his past life with Stocktons Wing gave us a memorable bodhrán break on their first LP and I was kind of expecting something along those lines. Tommy is deeper than that, well worth an interview (away with the job application, stick to the knitting -Ed).

A master of the old goat skin his video for Waltons is a Tour de Force (must get along to a review of that one day -Ed).  So on reflection it ain't really all that surprising that he has ventured into new beats both rhythmically and in his choice of musical landscapes. There are traditional dance tunes, Pigeon on the Gate, The Virginian, Bridie Lafferty's, The Job of Journey Work, lilted by his eighty year old aunt, Meta Costelloe and backed by various percussive drums and other beatable things. However, the outstanding work on the album is er...well ..er... experimental. It shades towards jazz in places, the sort of open air stuff you might get in St Malo or the Pigalle, in parts it gets dangerously near to "new age ambience", with connotations of soundtracks, airport shops and worthy green causes.

There's a wealth of 'world' influences here, African, Native American, Medieval Spanish. A gentle album, where the banging and shaking are the heartbeat of the music, it's never in-your-face and after a few listenings it even begins to tickle my speakers.

August 1997