First off congratulations to everyone who went over to Belfast to compete in the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann! At the time of writing the Fleadh had not yet officially ended nor had I seen a list of winners, so I’ll wait until next week to give individual congratulations. However, I’ve heard nothing but good things from the Fleadh-bound. Belfast has proven itself a brilliant host city and it seems a good time was had by all. I’ll look forward to hearing more news over the course of the week.
In the media yoke at the moment is Jayne Pomplas’s new album “This is How the World Ends.” Pomplas, a “fiddle player, vocalist, and composer whose music sits at the intersection of Irish traditional music, roots, folk, Americana, and contemporary experimental sound,” as her bio tells us, will be a familiar name to my North American readers, as she’s well known among traditional musicians here as one of New York’s “Sligo style” players. Now a longtime resident of Ireland, where she’s become an established name on the traditional scene, her new album blends traditional music with original songs and straddles the world of old and new sensibility with interest and aplomb.
Pomplas has several albums to her credit, including “Traditional Irish Music on Fiddle” in 2015, which featured a cavalcade of top NYC musicians like Alan Murray, Isaac Alderson, Cillian Vallely, and Tony Demarco, “My Mind Will Never Be Easy” with Luke Deaton in 2018, “John Byrne's Disco” in 2020, and “Lost & Found,” and in 2020, with Jos Kelly and Darren Roche from the band Moxie. This new album, with it’s particular approach, sees Pomplas moving in a fresh creative direction that seems to have been rooted during the pandemic.
The presence of both vocal and instrumental tracks makes this a very rounded album, but the story here pivots on Pomplas’s songwriting. In her liner notes, she writes that the album was “written during a period of intense personal reassessment and creative urgency” and “is an encapsulation of what it feels like to grow up.” What emerged, she feels, “moves between intimate folk confession, cinematic arrangement, and raw traditional performance.”
I find Pomplas’s songs have that sort of pop-cabaret chanson’s vibe about them, blending an almost midcentury persona with a modern sense of tragic glamour. This is especially apparent on “Sweeter Than Honey” and “Whiskey Sours,” both of which play up the cabaret element and feature pianist Jaz Delorean, who seems to have an intuitive understanding of that approach and for where Pomplas is taking her music. “Whiskey Sours” captures this feeling well, in particular.
But there’s real diversity in her approach. A modern feeling that veers closely towards a modern country sensibility shines through on tracks like “Hit Single” and “Stars and Stripes,” both of which have a very “American” feel to them. “Hit Single,” the album’s lead offering, is a particularly effective gesture in this direction. But then there are tracks that have a starkly contrasting feel. I think particularly of “Ninety Nine” and “Mother Superior,” both of which have a real darkness about them. Of the two, I prefer “Ninety Nine” for its challenging lyrics and the layered arrangement as it fits the song’s tone well.
Pomplas also includes a couple of more traditionally-oriented songs as well, “Blackwaterside,” and “There Is a Time.” Inspired by Anne Briggs’s version, Pomplas’s approach is very much her own, but I’m sure there’ll be folks who see a bit of Briggs in Pomplas. “There is a Time” has a fairly straightforward bluegrass vibe and a lovely take on the song and is, as Pomplas suggests in her liner notes, an appropriate way to close out the album.
In addition to the vocal tracks are a few groovy instrumentals that showcase her formidable fiddle playing. “Farewell to the Corncrake” consists of a slow air by Connie O’Connell and “Don’t Leave the Lights On,” an original hop jig that will draw listeners’s attentions. Her take on Finbar Furey’s “Lonesome Boatman” features aggressive, effect-soaked playing over guitar that cuts through and gets to the spirit of Furey’s melody well.
I’d say finest of the album’s instrumental tracks is “Bending the Curtains,” a jig followed by two reels, that features a pair of Pomplas’s own compositions, “Burning the Hinges” and “Bending the Curtains,” before finishing off with the time-tested classic “Wheels of the World.” They’re lovely tunes and of all the album’s instrumentals, I think this one offers the keenest insight into the sort of nuance listeners can find in Pomplas’s fiddling in general. Many musicians will find appeal in her compositions and it’s fascinating to hear her interpretation of her own work.
A bevy of guest artists, including John Francis Flynn, Patrick Stefan, Luke Coffey, Graham Heaney, Jamie Bishop, Jaz Delorean, Adrian Crowley, Lunatraktors, Méabh McKenna, Robbie Reilly, and RVE, have conspired here to elevate Pomplas’s music, and all do an excellent job. There’s great artfulness in their work and it’s a pleasure to listen to.
“This is How the World Ends” is a bold step for Pomplas. While her fiddle playing is once again excellent throughout, it her songs and songwriting that are given center stage. Fans will appreciate the deeply personal approach she brings and may even identify with elements of her songwriting. What's especially interesting is that even as Pomplas’s singing has developed since “John Byrne's Disco,” which is where I think I first heard her singing on record, her voice and phrasing have retained the distinct, honest character apparent from before. Give this one a listen if you’re looking for modern songwriting with folk accents! “This is How the World Ends” releases on all major streaming platforms on Sept. 11. For more information, visit https://www.jaynepomplas.com/.
