Spook of the Thirteenth Lock

Today Dublin band Spook of the Thirteenth Lock release The Brutal Here and Now, a follow-up to their 2008 self-titled debut album. The five-piece band is named after a poem about a haunted canal lock, and features founder and lyricist Allen Blighe, composer and multi-instrumentalist Enda Bates, new recruit Ronan Hayes on bass, Donnchadh Hoey on guitars, piano and tin whistle and Brian O’Higgins on drums. The Brutal Here and Now also features guest musicians Adrian Hart (violin) and Kim Porcelli (cello). Spook of the Thirteenth Lock have become known for their fusion of Irish music, rock, and traditional musics of other countries, such as Italy and India, with songs sung in a number of languages.

‘We’re very excited about the album,’ Enda Bates tells The Journal of Music. ‘It has been a while coming but the writing progress was slow and steady throughout the last few years and the writing process came very naturally. Of course the lyrical content was all Allen, but musically this one was very much written as a group. We were inspired by lots of different types of folk music, Irish traditional music of course, but also Italian and Indian folk (there are two songs in Irish, and one in Italian). I think with this album we really refined what it is we do. We’ve also recently expanded to a five piece with Ronan Hayes joining on bass guitar, so we’re really excited about our upcoming Irish tour.’

Spook of the Thirteenth Lock are accompanying the album launch with a tour of Ireland begun on 12 April in Cork, and will see them visit Dublin, Thomastown, Slane, Ennis, Kinsale, Galway, Tullamore, Belfast and the Vantastival Festival in Bellurgan. For more information, click here.

thirteenthlock.net