Into Music Live Review: The New Leaves

Concert: The New Leaves
Support: Ken McCluskey
Venue: The Doublet, Glasgow
Date: 25 August 2024

I came to this album launch in the intimate setting of The Doublet with a knowledge of The New Leaves‘ music. I was on board. What I didn’t know was how good they’d be live. If you know The Doublet, you’ll know just how cheek by jowl you are to the musicians. The perfect setting for a band whose music has a certain intimacy and an overwhelming sense of place.

This was to be a sequential, live recreation of their A Sketch Of Home album in its entirety and that was a potential problem for me as, on my admittedly few plays of the new album, I had decided that the two songs that I loved most were two of the first three tracks on ‘side one’, Donaghaguy Reservoir and Country Lane Lament. Where would the remainder of the gig take me? I shouldn’t have worried. The consistently strong songs, played with verve, passion, and more than a little musicality showed glimpses of a band that is going places. I’ll happily follow them on that journey (although I’ll stop short if they become a stadium band).

The blend of sometimes contemplative, sometimes pulsating, songs had the audience entranced. This wasn’t a home fixture for the band but you wouldn’t know it. County Down, in the north of Ireland, is home ground for this group of young musicians but the Glasgow crowd definitely had their backs. They exuded a charm that created one of the best atmospheres that I’ve been privileged to experience in a long time.

I mentioned the ‘sense of place’ earlier and that place, in particular, is Warrenpoint, County Down, in the shadow of the Mourne Mountains and in the midst of the rural beauty found at the head of Carlingford Lough. It is no surprise that the themes mainly land on the pastoral, exploring the relationship between humans and nature. The three-part harmonies and the modern folk vernacular sets the band apart from the more traditional folk expectations.

Band namecheck: Decky McKay (Vocals, Guitar), Cian O’Hare (Vocals, Guitar), Patrice McKevitt (Vocals, Smallest bass in the world!) and Paddy Goodfellow (Drums).

The band are the first signing to Ken McCluskey’s (The Bluebells, McCluskey Brothers) new record label, Corn Crake Records. And what a canny decision it is to play a guiding role to such an excellent band. Ken’s actual, physical supporting role on the night set the tone for the evening. His showmanship and presence is surely a valuable ‘look and learn’ lesson for any aspiring musicians. There was a genuine, palpably strong admiration shared between Ken and his charges!

As is my want, with live reviews, I won’t catalogue and describe every song played. I would just urge you to seek out the new album and avail yourself of the most exciting band and sounds coming out of the current folk scene.

This is, apparently, only a sketch of home. I was always more partial to Leonardo da Vinci’s sketchwork than his ‘finished’ work. Maybe this is why I came away from the gig, fully invested in the music and performance from The New Leaves. Oh … and … the craic was good.

Stephen

Links:

Last Night From Glasgow