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The best kept secret in music
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The first proper column of 2006 is getting of to an unusual start with ‘Album of the Week’ – usually reserved for the end of the column – starting off this week’s news. The reason for this change is that this week’s chosen album is the impressive debut from Naas quartet Henry Sails, entitled ‘Untied’.
This group showed promise very early on in their musical endeavour, displaying an unbelievably mature sound in local venues like The Old Mill (now sadly defunct), and have since moved on to make an impact on audiences in Whelans and at their recent album launch in Crawdaddy.
Most apparent on this album is the wealth of songwriting talent in the form of vocalists Jim Morrin and Liam Trappe (Conor Henry and Mark Dudley complete the foursome), with each credited to one of the two standout tracks on the album in the form of ‘Sundowning’ and ‘Mary Jane’.
‘Untied’ flows well as a body of work, with perhaps a couple a filler tracks in the middle section, but returning to form with the closing track ‘Stars and Streetlights’. Sophisticated instrumentalisation with imaginative percussion and beautiful use of the cello lends to the mature sound of ‘Untied’ and here and there it’s possible to draw comparisons with artists such as Mic Christopher, Simon and Garfunkel and even the more melancholy early sound of the Counting Crows, but ultimately Henry Sails - with the help of independent producer Frank McGing - have created an album to be proud of; a homage to love, loss and a passion for music. Highly recommended..
Emer McLysaght . - Leinster Leader - Jan'06
A couple of weeks ago Keeping in Tune named Naas band Henry Sail's debut offering‚ 'Untied' as album of the week. The group launched the album at a superb gig in Dublin's Crawdaddy venue. The group looked right at home on stage and sailed (excuse the pun!) through opening tracks 'Sundowning', 'Way You Were' and 'Still'.
The tight-knit foursome, Jim Morrin, Liam Trappe, drummer Cons Henry and Mark Dudley on lead guitar worked effortlessly with additional support for the evening from Niamh Morrin on vocals, Oisin Robinson on bass and Michael Moore on cello, recreating the stunning sounds of the album. Other highlights included 'Roskilde Song' and 'Fallout', while Aoife Kelly provided haunting violin accompaniment on 'Yours'. The evening displayed a commendable amount of musical maturity and for many who've known and supported the band since the beginning it was a proud moment to see them delight the packed venue. Wrapping it up with the more familiar tracks 'Mary Jane', 'Sunflowers' and the brilliant 'Stars and the Streetlights', the band is well worth catching live in the future.
With their obvious energy and enthusiasm for the music, and the tightness in their performance, Henry Sails have proven that the promise shown on 'Untied' is now matched by a terrific live presence. (Many thanks to Deirdre O'Connell for her thoughts on the evening). The album will be available at Tower Records, Zhivago (at Barker and Jones, Naas) and Top Twenty, or by contacting the band via the website www.henrysails.com.
Emer McLysaght
- Leinster Leader - FEB.06
Discography
2005 - released "vignette" e.p.
2006 - released debut album "Untied"
January 2007 - double A-side of Kickin' the Leaves Around/Sunflowers
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Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
The boys,and occasional girl (depending on the mood) of Henry Sails are edgy. They're not quite sure where they fit in. Small, succinct sales pitches are just not their style, and pigeon holes are too fucking small to accomodate the range of sounds that they can and do produce.
It all started with two friends,Jim Diction and T. Rappe who sat in each others living rooms,went off on weekends to far flung corners of the country with their guitars/piano /bottles of bucky, and who quickly began to respect and bounce off each others creativity. The tunes flowed out, and the boys did some small gigs together in a cobwebbed Old Mill, out in the Kildare backwoods.
'Feck this' thought the Dictionator, 'this shit needs to get locked down for the future generations to get off on'. Marko, a long time friend and fellow soul jerker of the lads started to sit in and wind out his lines like a hungry fisherman. It was starting to get special. Then cons, another long term brother stepped up to the stool and ground out some beats. there were grins exchanged.
Through the grapevine came some quids, and Henry Sails booked some studio time. Frank McGing turned up behind the Dictionator one night in Kill, as the D man was blasting out his rant over two small speakers, and lay into some keys. D man turned around and an inquiry into Hammond Organs turned into a full blown album session in Clonard Co Meath but a few weeks later.
'Untied' was pieced together in 5 days, and is a testament to four friends with an idea, four paint brushes and a bucket of love. Most of the songs were never played live before the recording sessions, and this lends to the laid back atmospheric approach to the session.
As the months rolled on and the mixing finished up, the album got its launch in Crawdaddy in January 2006, and has been floating around nicely ever since. The gigs piled in, the lads got hungrier and hungrier, and the live sound evolved into an emotive silent scream. New material flourished, and another trip to Franks was arranged.
The Henry Sails of January 2007 is a different, louder, angrier animal to the one that took tentative steps into the airwaves 12 months ago. A new single culled from the July Frank sessions is being released on Jan 19th on the bands own label, Redbelly Records.
Nomatter what happens to Henry Sails in the coming months, they have justified,mystified,testified in open and to all who care to listen that they are a force to be reckoned with. They are honest to the point of naivety,they are careful to the point of recklessness, and they are captivating to the open ear.
Give them a chance and they will move you.
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