When Lankum announced their brutal folk/post rock hybrid, ‘Go Dig My Grave’, I was in awe. Every idea Lankum had previously flirted with, including seamlessly mixing nightmarish soundscapes with the tender, was now turned up to 100. I thought, even after enjoying their music in the past, that now they could hypothetically upstage a metal band for intensity. The droney second half holds a power of its own. And the album, announced the same day, showed no signs of being different, filled with ambitiously long songs, mostly written in a Martello Tower off the east coast of Ireland for good measure.
Today, we hear their follow up single, ‘New York Trader’. Similarly structured, but this time more bouncy, sea shanty-esque, which is fitting, given its lyrics concern a collective of ship members throwing their captain overboard (read more about that below). The overriding bass that takes control towards the end is a real pleasure, taking leverage alongside the protesting vocals. We look forward to hearing more.
A note from Lankum about the song:
“We started working on the New York Trader in January 2021. Someone who had done terrible things had found themselves in command of the ship and in order for the passengers and crew to save themselves it became necessary to throw the captain overboard into the deep, hopefully never to return. We did what was necessary, but now live in fear as the bloated corpse threatens to resurface, this time commanding an army of the dead.” explains Ian Lynch of Lankum, “We learned it, like so many other great songs, from Ringsend native and all round legend Luke Cheevers. It is one of a group of songs (sometimes referred to as the ‘Jonah Ballads’). The words to the song may be based on an older ballad called ‘The Pirate’ in which the destination was New Barbary rather than ‘Amerikay’. It was printed on broadsides in the UK where it was quite popular in the 19th century, and versions were subsequently collected in Wiltshire, Norfolk and Nova Scotia in the 20th century.”
See Lankum Live
APRIL
25th Apr – Silent Green, Berlin, Germany – sold out
28th Apr – Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam, Netherlands– sold out
30th Apr – Le Botanique, Brussels, Belgium
MAY
2nd May – Petit Bain, Paris, France
4th May – London, Barbican, London, UK – sold out
10th May – St Lukes, Glasgow, UK – sold out
11th May – Band on the Wall, Manchester, UK – sold out
Fri 12th May – SWX, Bristol, UK – sold out
19th May – Mandela Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland – sold out
20th May – Cork Opera House, Cork, Ireland – sold out
24th May – Cork Opera House, Cork, Ireland
29th May – Vicar St, Dublin, Ireland * new date
30th May – Vicar St, Dublin, Ireland – sold out
31st May – Vicar St, Dublin, Ireland – sold out
JUNE
28th Jun – Pop Messe, Brno, Czech Republic
JULY
4th Jul – All Together Now Festival, Co Waterford, Ireland
AUGUST
17-21st Aug – Green Man Festival, Brecon Beacons, UK
SEPTEMBER
1-3rd Sep – Supersonic Festival, Birmingham, UK
NOVEMBER
17th Nov – Manufaktur, Schorndorf, Germany
19th Nov – Transcentury Update Festival, Leipzig, Germany
22nd Nov – Lido, Berlin, Germany
23rd Nov – Stadtgarten, Köln, Germany
26th Nov – Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands
DECEMBER
13th Dec – The Roundhouse, London, UK
Photo: Sorcha Frances Ryder
