NEW ALBUMS
CITY HOPPER
RECOMMENDED
Three stops on the road to Dennis
Fisherman’s Blues
ENSIGN, 1988
The original high-concept album followed Mike Scott’s relocation to Dublin and his full immersion in Celtic music. Frustrated with the difficulties of reproducing his rock sound live, Scott and a reconfigured Waterboys explored traditional forms, brilliantly infusing the rhythm of reels and jigs with the deep sentiment of country music. 10/10
An Appointment With Mr Yeats
W14/PROPER, 2011
Scott’s appreciation of the poetry of WB Yeats was no secret (Tomás Mac Eoin recited The Stolen Child on Fisherman’s Blues) but here he dives in, repurposing the poems as rock songs. He’s not afraid to reshape the material, but the concept is approached with due respect, and delivered with awe and wonder. 7/10
Good Luck, Seeker
COOKING VINYL, 2020
Though this eclectic set has no overall theme it does highlight The Waterboys’ fleet-footedness. Scott claimed to have channelled Kate Bush, Sly Stone and Kendrick Lamar, but the unifying factor, among the beats, is his emergence as a storyteller. The album’s joke song, “Dennis Hopper” is a playful exercise in rhyme and the seed of a much grander idea. 7/10