Growing up, my dad was a big fan of the Chieftains. →
Like many bands, he had one record in particular that he played to death. I think in this case, it was a collaborative album they did with Van Morrison. I love Van, but I couldn’t stand this record. I can’t put my finger on why, but I always went back up to my room whenever this record was on in the kitchen.
So when I heard that the Chieftains were celebrating being really, really old by doing a collab with lots of artists, including indie notables, including the Decemeberists, the Low Anthem and Justin Vernon, I sighed. But then I listened to the first track they’ve released off of Voice of Ages (is that a companion to the Band’s Rock?), the song they recorded with the Bon Iver frontman, I loved it.
It’s kind of what I’d always expected them to sound like - Irish, folky, glum - but perhaps it took pairing with the best falsetto in indie rock on an ancient Irish folk song for me to hear that. I would give it a listen. But don’t listen to this.
