At 20 tracks, even by today’s standards, Inventory is a weighty beast of an album. But then it needs to be as this “best of…” has to fit a lot of music in, ten years to be precise. So, as they tour the world playing the music live, to those new to the band, which pretty much includes me, it is the perfect time to give this retrospective a spin and see what all the fuss is about.
And the fuss, for want of a better word, is justified as this group of Franco-Hibernean musicians sit in that place that produced those same incredible blends of folk and rock and pop that gave bands such as The Waterboys and Oyster Band such an iconic sound and which Lusitanian Ghosts are also laying down to such fantastic effect, even as I speak.
From the blend of trad folk and ska and rap, sing-along and skanking grooves that open the album with their eponymous track to gloriously Celtic knees-ups courtesy of the instrumental “Rose in the Heather” and from the shimmering folk-pop of “Sunshine” to the understated, balladic current single, that puts the album to bed “I Can’t Wait Anymore,” it is a glorious collection of music that spans both traditional realms and sonic exploration, draws on the past as it heads into the future.
And it is a glorious sound that they make, one where fiddles fly and guitars groove, drums kick out a dance beat, and all manner of stringed and acoustic things weave through everything from tribal roots stomps to finessed folk ballads.
It looks like folk music is back on the menu!
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