Multi-award-winning Irish band Ye Vagabonds share a new track and video, ‘Danny’ taken from their new album, All Tied Together, out now. ‘Danny’ comes with a video directed by Ellius Grace (Lankum, Lisa O’Neill, Junior Brother) and follows the album’s previous singles, ‘The Flood’ and ‘On Sitric Road’ which was accompanied by a live video recorded in Dublin.
‘Danny’ is a poignant character study over a distinctive mix of cello, synthesizer, and harmonium, based on a troubled Carlow boy who, Diarmuid says, “didn’t get a fair run. I wanted to celebrate him.” The brothers sing: “He ran like he could feel / Something snapping at the heels / Of his worn out shoes / Too fast to follow / Too hot to hold / Too good to lose.”
Recorded live in a house in Galway, with acclaimed producer Philip Weinrobe (Big Thief, Adrianne Lenker) at the helm, the powerful and cinematic album features deeply evocative original songs infused with memory, tribute, and gratitude. Throughout, a strong sense of home prevails, both their own hard-won digs, past and present, and an inner refuge for anyone longing for connection beyond time and geography. “All these songs have addresses,” says co-frontman Diarmuid Mac Gloinn. “They’re about specific locations and specific people.” The brothers cite fiction writers George Saunders and Claire Keegan as particular inspirations on this record.
The brotherly harmonies and multi-instrumental abilities of Diarmuid and Brían Mac Gloinn were joined on All Tied Together by multi-instrumentalists Shahzad Ismaily (Laura Viers, Cass McCombs) who flew over from Brooklyn, Alain Mc Fadden, Caimin Gilmore, Kate Ellis, Sam Amidon, Romain Bly and Louise Gaffney.
While initially achieving renown as purveyors of their ancestors’ music mixed with folk-based originals, the Mac Gloinn brothers – Brían and Diarmuid – have increasingly focused on honing their own material, enlisting trusted co-conspirators to distill voice and vision into potent tunes. They have brought their interpretation of the Irish folk tradition to global audiences, going from Trad sessions to touring with the likes of Hozier and boygenius.
All Tied Together follows the duo’s previous acclaimed 2022 album Nine Waves and standalone single ‘I’m A Rover’, which won them an RTE Radio One Folk Award for Best Traditional Folk Track. Ye Vagabonds were also named Best Folk Group for the second time at the 2021 ceremony, where they hold the record for most awarded artists.
All Tied Together is the tenth album to be released by River Lea (run by Geoff Travis, Jeannette Lee and Tim Chipping) following records by Lisa O’Neill, Brìghde Chaimbeul, John Francis Flynn, a compilation of Irish music from the archives compiled by Lankum’s Ian Lynch, Sam Amidon, Poor Creature and Ye Vagabond’s previous albums The Hare’s Lament and Nine Waves.
Stream / download All Tied Together here.
Stream / download ‘Danny’ here.
