Róisín Murphy's latest CD is getting rave reviews in Ireland.
By Colleen Taylor
Ireland is abuzz this week with music news. A few days ago, Beyoncé announced an extra 500 additional seats for her concert at Croke Park on Saturday. So the show heralded by the “Lemonade” posters peppering the city will be enjoyed by an even wider audience, as more fans avail of those last tickets to see Queen B. People less interested in mainstream music, however, also have something to be excited about, with a new release from electro-pop artist Róisín Murphy. Her latest album, “Take Her Up to Monto,” released this week, has Irish music critics raving. The Irish Times claims the Wicklow native has mastered her genius in this most recent release. For those of us interested in Irish music and culture, there is an interesting artistic lineage behind her new album’s title and inspiration. With Beyoncé’s Croke Park show, and especially Murphy’s new album, modern-day pop collides with an Irish past.
Róisín Murphy has established herself as a musical visionary, performer, and fashionista. Even “avant garde” seems too ordinary a prescription for what her artistry attempts. Born in Wicklow, by her early 20s she was a fixture in London music and art scene, starting out in the duo Moloko, then going solo in 2004. “Take Her Up to Monto” marks her fourth solo album. Murphy’s career has been chameleonic, absorbing and reflecting all different kinds of artistic colors and influences, from hip hop and jazz to 1960s trends and even ballroom music.
So what distinguishes “Take Her Up to Monto”? For Irish Times reviewer Jim Carroll, it’s that this album finally lands on the best qualities of Murphy’s voice. He says that Murphy and her collaborator, Eddie Stevens, have accessed the wonky timbres and reverbs that suit the levels of her vocal range. For me, however, what makes this album interesting is something else entirely: its decidedly Irish homage.
The title alludes to two divergent Irish influences: Irish jazz player George Hodnett and a derelict Dublin neighborhood of the 19th century and early 20th century. Hodnett’s best known song was “Monto” or “Take Her Up to Monto,” which became an instant hit, and was beloved and strongly identified with Ronnie Drew and the Dubliners. Monto was a red-light district that made an appearance in the “Nighttown” episode of “Ulysses.” It seems fitting that Murphy, in her simultaneously Irish and cosmopolitan identities, in her ability to bend musical notes and blend artistic influences, would make such a weighty allusion in what is being considered her best known album. She’s not exactly going back to her roots, but rather, tangling them in an evocative way.
I admit I was pre-disposed to be underwhelmed the album, mainly in resistance to all the hype around it. But the track “Ten Miles High” won me over. Her whispery high notes meld in perfect contrast with deep-noted reverbs and some staccato piano. It’s a fascinating collage of sounds. The music video is very strange, and admittedly a little creepy (there’s an unsettling scene of her in a church wearing a mask and construction vest), but certainly fitting for Murphy’s tendency to bend the artistic framework.
Regardless of what you think of Murphy’s idiosyncrasies, there’s no doubt she’s an interesting Irish artist to consider from a cultural studies standpoint. Her music seems like a meeting point of old and modern Ireland, the global and the national.
Check out “Take Her Up to Monto” on Spotify or through Murphy’s Facebook page.
Colleen Taylor's Music Notes column appears in the Irish Echo each week.
