Releases > Releases May 2026

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WEST OF EDEN
Lighthousekeeping
Own Label, 12 Tracks, 47 Minutes www.westofeden.com
West of Eden’s latest album celebrates their thirty years together and delves into a familiar Celtic song book. There are some well-known titles here: The Rocky Road to Dublin, Marie’s Wedding, Paddy’s Lamentation, Little Ball of Yarn (learned at the Irish World Music Academy of all places). The core band are joined here by Celtic heavyweights John McCusker and Mike McGoldrick who blend effortlessly into Martin Schaub’s complex arrangements, the band often giving these tracks a 1970’s Folk Rock gloss. The opening number, the Child ballad Sir Patrick Spens is a prime example, it is an ancient tale of a service person being sent into harm’s way by a leader drunk on power and devoid of common-sense.
Sumptuous vocals abound from Jenny on Is ar Éireann ní Nfheósfainn cé hí, matched with a low whistle and droned strings from fiddle and double bass, the whole secured together with a running bouzouki counter melody. Notice how they bring musical tension into the last phrase of each verse enhancing the emotion in the song. Their arranging snaps into focus in the penultimate verse where Jenny’s voice is backed by a pizzicato fiddle, the track ending with a gorgeous extended instrumental from bouzouki and fiddle and the hint of an accordion in the background layer. Without doubt this is a masterpiece track.
The band’s guitar/banjo-player Henning Sernhede, adds his vocals to Pound a Week Rise, here given an Americana twist, courtesy of a repeated banjo riff. The album ends with Jenny singing Willie and Mary, a tale of love-torn separation, and a happy if confused repatriation, some subtle electric guitar here on what is essentially a rich acoustic arrangement, that is until the denouement of the story when the band switch into folk rock mode.
An album where melody is key and where the singers Martin and Jenny Schaub excel in their chosen genres, Martin happy to handle the drama of folk rock and Jenny completely at home in the lyrical corners of folk song.
Seán Laffey

THE HIGH KINGS
The Irish Roar
Sony Music, Single, 3 Minutes
https://www.facebook.com/thehighkings
This is a new song from the very popular Irish singing quartet and it comes with a manifesto. They write in their PR: “The Irish Roar is about identity and belonging. It’s about that feeling in your chest when you hear the anthem, see the flag, or stand shoulder to shoulder with your own. Ireland has always been called the underdog, but time and time again we rise. This song is a call to assemble, a call to believe, and a reminder that no matter where in the world you are, if you carry Ireland in your heart, you’re part of something powerful.”
Yes, on first hearing I can agree 100%. This is a rousing anthem, a modern piece of high definition full screen call to action. Songwriting that belongs to a patriotic spectrum from the Wolfe Tones song book to Phil Coulter’s Ireland’ s Call. The Irish Roar is nearer the Tones end of the rainbow:
Through fear we ride
And death we stride
And face a life of toil.
We’re marching on where we belong
On Ireland’s rugged soil.
It’s a fast song, compacted with imagery: lakes, mountains, the tragedy of the famine and the angry  sadness of emigration, none of that ever dimming pride in the parish and the home place. We live this every day here in Ireland, and The High Kings bring us sentiment without sentimentality. The Irish Roar is strident and uncompromising; forget Celtic whimsy, forget any longing for the sepia past or the cosiness of those homes of Donegal. This flips the narrative of the underdog and feeds Cú Chulainn’s hound raw meat for breakfast. The Irish Roar is musical scean with a keen edge and these lyrics cut deep.
Is this the first inkling of what is to be expected when the High Kings release their anticipated next album? If so, the gloves are off and there’s so much fire in the High King’s bellies, it practically roars.
Seán Laffey

THALAS
As It Comes
Trad Records TRAD043, 10 Tracks, 41 Minutes
www.tradrecords.be
Belgian button box master Guus Herremans has a surprisingly light touch on the joyous and upbeat music of this duo with guitarist and pianist Ward Dhoore. I tend to associate the diatonic accordion with strong dark playing, powerful tunes with a deep resonant bass line often in soulful minor keys: but that’s not Thalas. As It Comes is a celebration of creativity, of a year-long collaboration by two hugely experienced musicians, of the joy of making music together. It flows, gently but surely, with the accordion leading most tracks but leaving plenty of space for guitar and other instruments from Ward. The opening We’re Off sets the tone with box and mandolin duets, and a full arrangement backing a lovely lyrical jig.
The soft notes of Tideframe give way to a more urgent beat for Airco is a Lie, a pugnacious low country dance and possibly the most aggressive playing here. The soothing waltz Contra Tu provides a total contrast, while the march-like In Good Company gently ramps up the tempo. Alternating slow and quicker pieces continue with the guitar-led title track, the hop-step of La Vie Saucy (not to be confused with La Vie Sans Saucy), and the languid French-style waltz Josefien. The final Hideout could almost be a triumphal march if Thalas cranked up the volume, but it remains a gentle stroll in these hands - and perhaps it’s better to preserve the relaxed unhurried feel of As It Comes.
Alex Monaghan

EVA COYLE
A Gentle Turning
Own Label, 8 Tracks, 33 Minutes
www.evacoyle.com
Eva Coyle has established herself via a number of collaborations on the Irish traditional and folk scene both nationally and internationally as a gifted singer as well as playing piano and accordion. She was introduced to the piano at an early age and has developed her own style based on classical grades before further study under the guidance of Micheál Ó Suilleabháin and Ryan Molloy among others. On this recording she concentrates exclusively on instrumental acoustic piano, an upright model located in Wavefield Studios in West Cork, where recording took place.
From the outset it’s clear that she has a remarkable and intimate relationship with the piano, coaxing nuances of melody, tone, rhythm and dynamics to subtly express her response to the demands of each piece, introducing elements of environments and field ambience to avoid an overly sterile delivery. The results are absolutely stunning, as she invites the listener to join her in a calm and relaxed setting, allowing the music to envelop and captivate her audience.
The music is a mix of traditional and contemporary pieces, some self-composed, with a re-working of the well-known hymn Be Thou My Vision as a homage to her grandmother who provided early inspiration for her as a child. Spring Rock Park reflects a time spent in Chicago with subtle natural sound textures underpinning the piano. Dying Love is an instrumental version of an earlier song from her first album, where she strips back the melody to its essential components, while she expertly interprets two traditional tunes, Caisleán an Óir and Will You Come Down To Limerick, as constantly shifting and evolving themes weave their way through the melodic cores.
This album is a delightful collection of virtuoso interpretations, shaped by her rich and varied life experiences and an acute sense of harmonic beauty.
Mark Lysaght

SALTAIRE
Only Moonlight
Own Label EP, 5 Tracks, 25 Minutes
www.facebook.com/saltaire.dublin
Self-styled as a dark folk trio, Saltaire released this EP on 27th of February 2026. It is a calling card for what looks set to be one of the most exciting folk/trad groups to have emerged so far this year. The core trio is made up of singer/cellist Kaitlin Cullen-Verhauz, guitarist Ian Kinsella and bodhrán/bouzouki player Conor Lyons. They are joined by Ryan McAuley (banjo), Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin (flute), Catherine McHugh (piano), Laoise FitzGerald (backing vocals) and producer Alex Borwick (trombone, and Rhodes keyboards).
This augmented ensemble blend Irish and American folk influences. This mixture is foremost on the track Aldborough Parade, a love song written by Ian Kinsella, which sounds as if it could have been collected in the Appalachians in the late 1800s, although the location is just a few hundred metres from Dublin’s North Wall.
Talking of old songs, Kaitlin has complete command of the Child ballad Matty Groves, it’s taken at a syncopated pace, bringing a rippling flow to the story telling, even allowing time for an instrumental break that comes at us out of left field with a Balkan Sobranie flute flourish. Forget the Fairport version, this takes the accolades for the best version so far of the 21st century.
For those who like their folk blended with traditional tunes, then IMHO the cherry on the cake is the set Slip Jigs and Jenny’s. A tour de force based around the old favourite Jenny’s Chickens. It gets a new hatching as Kaitlin starts the track on cello, then explodes like fireworks as the band takes off, with an afterburner of a flute section near the end.
Saltaire say they are a band of backers, who until now have been in the shade of others; this EP sees them stepping beyond the shadows. On Only Moonlight, wherever you look, the musical reflection is dazzling.
Seán Laffey

PADDY BOYLE
The Sup
Own Label, 11 Tracks, 37 Minutes
www.paddyboyle.bandcamp.com
Based in Ontario, Canada though of Irish extraction, Paddy Boyle investigates songs associated with social libation and alcohol and the effects of the same on the constitution, both private and public. The introduction from the words of the legendary John B. Keane celebrates the effect of the drink from its pouring to its enjoyment, evocatively and romantically over a pipe organ drone, it sets the scene for what is to come.
The album is a collection of well-known ballads rendered in a low-fi intimate setting with minimal backing behind Paddy Boyle’s vocals. To his credit he manages effective re-castings of Johnny Jump Up and The Longford Weaver associated with Jimmy Crowley, Christy Moore and Andy Irvine; here the vibe is stripped back alt-folk. This move is advantageous, focusing on the lyrical power of songs as opposed to their often lively and raucous settings. This allows for a rediscovery of the muscularity of the songs themselves. The pleasure of their wordplay and vocabulary is  expressed on The Humours of Whiskey and Clasped to the Pig. The poetic strains of An Bonnan Bui rendered unaccompanied, itself recalling Al O’Donnell’s monumental version. Both Dicey Reilly and Glen Hughes’ Whiskey on A Sunday (an Irish number 1 for the late Danny Doyle in 1967) are remnants from the 60s ballad boom worthy of a revisit, the former’s multi tracked vocals recalling Sweeney’s Men and the latter benefitting from Boyle’s low-key vocals and the Music Hall cadences rendered on the chorus.
Paddy Boyle’s musical backings include guitar, mandolin, and tenor banjo, G-banjo, mandola, bouzouki, harmonium. His vocals have a Northern twang which is also extremely catching and effective. The Sup –Songs about the Drink is an eloquent celebration of a cultural phenomenon and its associated societal and personal repercussions. Paddy Boyle’s laid–back lyrical execution is, what Flann O’Brien might have said, a generous ball of malt!
John O’Regan

HONEY AND THE BEAR
A Wish and a Tide
Own Label 11 Tracks, 46 Minutes www.honeyandthebear.co.uk
In our always-on world, it might seem at times that we are becoming disconnected from the local. This album addresses that concern by concentrating its perspective on a particular corner of England. You might say one of the most English places of all, Suffolk. Where the Anglo Saxon ‘south-folk’ first settled, shortly after the Romans left their east coast door open.
Honey and The Bear is a duo of husband and wife Lucy and Jon Hart. Jon plays guitar and electric guitar while Lucy’s main strength is her vocal, and they both play double bass and bouzouki. They are based in East Anglia and call Suffolk their home. Their songwriting here is embedded in their sense of place. They are accompanied on the album by Toby Shaer (flutes, whistles and fiddle), Archie Churchill-Moss (diatonic button accordion), Evan Carson (percussion and bodhrán) and Graham Coe (cello).
Flute and bodhrán give a Celtic dimension to Close to The Edge. A guitar picks out the melody on Place Like My home with Lucy and Jon’s soothing  harmonies, somewhat reminiscent of Johnny Flynn at his most poetic, here it is a sign that Honey and the Bear are living the zeitgeist of British folk.
There’s some extemporised fiddling on Break From The Chain, Lucy’s voice rising above the tumult of the instruments in a song connecting place with ancient history and legend: where the Celtic Queen Boudica rose up against Roman rule. The archaeological evidence is strong; a statue of Claudius was decapitated during her rebellion, the head was found over a millennium later, and given a Celtic send off. As it says in their song “cast into the water”. A drawing of the head appears on the album’s cover.
Cruel Mistress is a sombre song with a bass bearing the brunt of the work. Lucy’s voice occupies a zone an octave above, and that sonic distance underlines the angst in the song. For a beautifully polished production I’d recommend their love song Everything Will Be OK. This is a track that could become a favourite of cover bands. Surely a measure of any great song is how many others will want to get in on the action. Listen, covet and learn.
Honey and The Bear extend the notion of place beyond geography, into the liminal worlds of history and folk memory. Place is a feeling we get from being there, and being there is where Honey and the Bear are right now.
Seán Laffey

KEVIN LAUGHLIN
Play It Cool
DustroKid: Single, 3 Minutes, 55 Seconds
www.facebook.com/KevinLaughlinMusic
Kevin Laughlin is a guitar player and singer from Donegal, who grew up surrounded by music, leading to him pursuing a music degree, and he is now embarking on a professional sscareer. Play It Cool is his debut single, and from the first cymbal crash you are immediately drawn in by his voice, warm and engaging. He effortlessly combines the innocence and optimism of youth with the impression of a life already partially shaped by romantic experience.
The song itself is well-crafted with clever internal rhymes in the lyrics, leading up to a genuinely memorable chorus, with the song title at the end.
The production is professional and assured with nice female vocal harmonies and dynamics adding to the overall effect. The abrupt ending comes as a slight surprise which certainly makes you take note!
On this showing, Kevin has a bright future ahead of him, and he has been playing a string of support gigs with Gearóid McCarthy in recent months, which will certainly get him some deserved recognition on the circuit. We can look forward to his next recording with real anticipation as he is already showing remarkable maturity and ability as a composer for someone so young.
Mark Lysaght