May 19, 2011
I’ve been struggling to write a review of One Drop of Whiskey, the new release by The Canny Brothers Band. It should have been pretty easy, right? 7 piece, Brooklyn based group, playing mostly Irish folk standards along with some originals, with a slight rock influence. But, there was something else there that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. That was until last night while I got caught in a pissing rain storm as I gave One Drop of Whiskey one more spin on my mp3 player, it came to me- Jimmy Buffett!
Now you might be thinking I’m totally insane for making this comparison. I doubt the bros wear Hawaiian shirts on stage, I’m pretty sure they’d rather pull a nice pint of Guinness then make a Pina Colada, though their skill on the grill are not in doubt. What I am getting at is there is this laid back grove that perminates right through the album – its most obvious on, Óró, Sé do Bheatha ‘Bhaile, with its reggae grove, the funky bass of I’ll Tell Me Ma, and on the title track, but it’s there in every track to some extent in either the music or vocals – even the songs of rebellion and hanging and the like, for this Buffett comes straight to mind. Finally, Irish music you can chill to.
Shite'n'Onions 