The Spook Of The Thirteenth Lock are an experimental folk-rock band from Dublin, Ireland, who took their distinguishing name from a poem about a haunted canal lock, penned by Irish politician and writer, Arthur Griffith. After the band's formation in 2005 and their signing to Transduction Records in 2008, they released their self-titled debut, followed by their sophomore album, The Brutal Here and Now, both to much acclaim from critics and fans. The records' success had the band touring all over Ireland, as well as Japan, Europe and the US.
Two years ago the band experimented with a larger scale project and performed their piece, Lockout, joined by an electric guitar orchestra, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1913 Dublin Lockout. For their new EP, The Bullet In The Brick, the band's first release since 2012, they used that same orchestra, adding a large amount of volume to their unique mixture of traditional and modern folk sounds.
The Bullet In The Brick is themed around events that occurred in Ireland one century ago, during the 1916 Eastern Rising, like the bombing of Dublin by the British gunship, The Helga, the murder of activist Francis Sheehy Skeffington and its attempted cover-up, and finally the Proclamation of the Irish Republic.
Listen to side-A, the complete eight-minute The Bullet In The Brick suite right below...
Vinyl and digital
ZR
Two years ago the band experimented with a larger scale project and performed their piece, Lockout, joined by an electric guitar orchestra, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1913 Dublin Lockout. For their new EP, The Bullet In The Brick, the band's first release since 2012, they used that same orchestra, adding a large amount of volume to their unique mixture of traditional and modern folk sounds.
The Bullet In The Brick is themed around events that occurred in Ireland one century ago, during the 1916 Eastern Rising, like the bombing of Dublin by the British gunship, The Helga, the murder of activist Francis Sheehy Skeffington and its attempted cover-up, and finally the Proclamation of the Irish Republic.
Where the serenity of traditional folk music meets the electrifying energy of rock, the venturous experimentation of kraut and the sentimentality of post rock, The Spook Of The Thirteenth Lock have developed their own style, in a manner that is as inventive as it is artistic and enticing. This is a stand-out band that has devoted their art not only to their rich Irish heritage. Judging from at least their latest couple of endeavors The Spook Of The Thirteenth Lock have also their minds set towards musical innovation and forward-thinking.
A studio version of Lockout will be released on Transduction in early 2017.
A studio version of Lockout will be released on Transduction in early 2017.
Listen to side-A, the complete eight-minute The Bullet In The Brick suite right below...
Vinyl and digital
ZR