The fabulous and highly anticipated new California Irish album, ‘The Mountains Are My Friends’, is now released, out on both digital and CD with the Vinyl format following close on their heels.
Order the album here: https://ada.lnk.to/Mountains
Order physical copies of the album here: https://eyesoremerch.com/california-irish/
Cormac comments on the release: “Recording this record was one of the most beautiful experiences of any of our lives. Since then California Irish has been our life blood and it’s been so exciting gradually letting the world in song by song, gig by gig. Now it’s time to show you who we really are with a debut album that means everything to us as musicians, artists, humans. Because we recorded it straight to tape it doesn’t sound like anybody else. It’s us. It’s who we are. We hope you love us. Enjoy. Peace agus love. Síochán agus grá xo”
Having already won 3 ‘tracks of the week’ features in Classic Rock Magazine for their singles, the California Irish album is garnering critical acclaim from everyone who hears it, being touted as the ‘best album you will hear all year’, ‘a ‘a wonderful record’ and ‘is a blazing beacon set against the harmony of wilful beauty’ amongst many other glowing comments!
This isn’t just the best album you will hear all year, it’s one that makes you realise that despite the state the music industry is in at the moment, despite the streaming, despite the AI generated garbage, the autotune and synthesized soulless noise, there is real music out there. Real music that can transcend the vicissitudes of everyday life, that makes you realise you can live forever in that moment. This is the album that reminded me that real music is timeless, fleeting, ethereal, beautiful, fragile, organic, and bursting with promise. It’s an album that makes you realise that this world can be a better place, a warmer place, a greater place and these days we need that more than ever. 10/10 – The Rock Pit, AUS
Nothing lingers here, most of the songs are between 2 and 4 minutes, the brevity in their favour as it gives an authenticity of when songs could only fit one side of wax, the longest song saved for last on the spectacular I Am Free. Two musical heritages combining to produce beautiful music that sings of its influences loudly and proudly, a wonderful record featuring one of the best singers in the game. 9/10 – Musipedia Of Metal
Sitting here in the middle of England, you always think of the western US as vast and cinematic. “I Am Free” taps into that wonderfully. A duet between Neeson and Coyle, its chorus rings out: “For the first time in a long time I am free” – but freedom doesn’t explain all of this.
Rather, it’s the last line – “I will carry all that I have lived” – that surely brought us here. And it’s the communal laughter that breaks out at the song’s end that makes this so special.
“The Mountains Are My Friends” is music made simply because everyone wanted to – and it’s a genuine gem. Rating: 9/10 – Maximum Volume Music
Across tracks such as the opener Live Fast Die Free, Julie Ann, Something Different, the enticing Sunday Morning, and the finale of I Am Free, California Irish rampage and stoke the fires of the mountain to a point where what is witness is more than a message of intent, it is a blazing beacon set against the harmony of wilful beauty. A generous and fantastically paced recording, each player doing their bit to combine a sound of majestic property and intellect. – Liverpool Sound & Vision
Summoning the beguiling spirit of Laurel Canyon, employing analogue recording techniques, and recording songs in one or two takes to achieve something with a real human touch, California Irish are a new seven piece group hailing from Belfast that working their own niche within the world of folk and Americana, and everything in between.
The brainchild of the group is lead singer and chief songwriter Cormac Neeson. The band were hand-picked by Neeson based on long standing friendships, as well as experiences with numerous musical projects within the thriving Belfast music scene.
Cormac states his reason for starting the band and wanting to harness this fabulous sound: “This album is the opposite of boring AI generated no soul perfection. We recorded this album in a room together over four days allowing the music to breathe when it needed to, looking at each other for our cues and feeding off each other’s energy. It felt like a dream…but it’s the most real thing I’ve ever done in music.
That Laurel Canyon sound of the late 60s, epitomised by the early Crosby Stills Nash and Young stuff, and the first few Joni Mitchell records, has always felt otherworldly and magical. On our album we’ve tried to access some of that beauty and create our own magic by combining brand new music with an old school recording process.”
The Laurel Canyon influence also extends to the band’s recording technique, adhering rigidly to the analogue 16 track recording method circa 1969; namely recording live straight to tape at the world famous Middle Farm Studios under the watchful eyes and ears of producer Pete Miles. The resulting sound of California Irish flies in the face of modern techniques that often lose the warmth of the original compositions. Instead, the group opted for a one off and unique shared human experience with musicians who feed off each other’s energy, and create compelling four-part vocal blends around one single microphone in a warm alt-folk celebration. The creative process in turn led to an album’s worth of songs titled ‘The Mountains Are My Friends’.
Introducing the band:
Cormac Neeson (vocals, acoustic guitar, psychedelic cowbell)
Susy Coyle (vocals and percussion)
Donal Scullion (acoustic, electric guitar, vocals)
Chris Kelly (lap steel, mandolin, acoustic, electric guitar, vocals)
James Doone (bass)
Simon Templeton (piano, hammond, Wurlitzer)
Conor McCauley (drums)
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