No Fixed Abode

When you are a Radio DJ, you could be having lunch sitting atop a telephone pole
and it’s guaranteed that somebody will climb that pole and shove their CD in your
hand. They will then commence to spout some well-rehearsed chatter about how their
album is a cut above the rest and the world will stop if only you’d play it.
And you know something, that’s okay. It’s our job to listen, evaluate, and play the
music if it qualifies within that all elusive, nondescript criteria we refer to
as “Taste.” Naturally I refer to independent radio stations where airplay of a song is
based on merit and not some payola or marketing commandment.
But the sad truth is in the current scene, most of the music reflects artists
simply trying to clone themselves in the image of other successful bands. And this
redundancy spans all genres.
So, it is with pure elation that I write this review of No Fixed Abode’s latest
CD, “Clearwater.” From the first few notes of “What Did I Do” they had me. The song
launches into a rolling rhythm that has enough hooks at the start to catch a Great
White, followed by Una Walsh’s Angelic vocal that insists you listen on. I was
instantly convinced that these folks were seasoned professionals and yes, a cut above.
The second song on the CD, “Kebab Crazed Nutter” slapped me back. I struggle for
the words here. This is the song that caused me to throw out any preconceived ideas I
was forming to fit what this band was all about. Here is a tune that I can only
describe as Celtic Gypsy. Actually, it fully breaks out of any definitions of any
genre. It takes you to a place only your imagination can go. Have a listen, you’ll see
what I mean.
The fourth tune, “The Salty Sea Dog” Was a flowing, rolling tune that started to
reel the band back in to more traditional Celtic folk but somehow finds a new
refreshing way to summon the Celtic Soul. While listening I thought this would have
been a song John Denver would have sold his soul to record.
When the tune “Sunne Days” came up, I was already primed to expect the unexpected.
But I wasn’t quite prepared for such a radical and delightful switch. “Sunne Days”
just flat out gives No Fixed Abode an international appeal with the back street speak-
easy, ambience it creates. It certifies that this band has range. This song, much like
the earlier tune, “Modern Life” sent me right to a smoky pub in the New Orleans’,
French Quarter, sipping on something in a Julep glass and watching a sultry beauty
belt out her tune while a single spotlight followed her every move…or maybe it was in
Paris?
And so it is with the entire album. No Fixed Abode are story tellers, bards in the
truest sense. They paint images with music as deftly as Leonardo did with pigment and
with equal innovation.
“Clearwater” literally possesses something for everyone. With only Tony Dean’s
perfectly stated guitar work and Una Walsh’s stunning vocals it would be enough to be
called a masterpiece… but there is so much more.
Comparing No Fixed Abode to other groups in an effort to give you a sense of what they
do would be an injustice. They stand alone at the center of a musical desert of
indifference. This CD begs to be in every collection. I give it 10 whole notes.
- aiiradio.net Los Angeles Affiliate

Clearwater offers an upbeat collection of new songs. All tracks come from
the pen of Dean and Walsh. Tony Dean plays acoustic guitar to the
accompaniment of the crystal clear vocals of Una Walsh an Irish woman who
is making muscal waves on the UK folk scene and is based in the midlands.
Who can fault an album with a track called 'Kebab Crazed Nutter'? This
album is very contemporary in feel with songs like 'Modern Life' and
'Absent Friends' beautifully reflecting the thoughts, joys and worries of
21st century life just as the classics reflected a time long past. One of
my personal favourites is the wonderful 'Call Me'. On this track Walsh
reminds me of the vocals of Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary. The
diction, the delivery and the content combine into an almost perfect song
of love and its effects on a single life that reflects the feelings of all.
Another highly evocative track here is 'Schooldays' but the delivery is
bang up to date, showing that you can recall the real past without having
the words set to an old tune.
The following track sets out to be the exception proving the rule by again
leading us into nostalgia but this time with a more traditional backing on
recollections, that track is 'Going Home'.The CD ends with 'The Time Has
Come' wishing us farewell all to early. I
look forward to more music from No Fixed Abode.
- Irish Music Magazine