Irish indie-folk four piece Raglans have made monumental steps towards great success with their self-titled debut album due to be released March 21.
Opening with the rolling drum beat of ‘Digging Holes’, Raglans set the bar high for the rest of the album to live up to with their catchy lyrics and bouncy guitar and bass riffs. The following song ‘(Lady) Roll Back The Years’ does not disappoint as “one, two, three, four” is called cueing the urge to tap feet along to the distinct drum beat.
With the chorus still echoing around your head the softer, mellow singing on ‘Fake Blood’ and ‘Before Tonight’ brings a calmer tone to the album; however still with your foot tapping along to the high tempo beat. A strange match between slow singing and a fast beat works perfectly on these tracks before bringing the pace back up again to dance along to the choruses of ‘Natives’.
Tracks like ‘White Lightning’, ‘Not Now’ and ‘High Road’ help the album flow along smoothly with blends of calming melodies and harmonies. ‘The Man From Glasgow’ speeds the pace a little, with backing chants supporting the strong lyrics and messages being broadcast to an already astounded audience by this point.
‘Down’ and ‘Born In Storms’ close the album excellently and wrap up an outstanding debut album from the Irish four piece. This band will go from strength to strength on the back this album as it has laid down all the necessary foundations with songs that sound perfectly suited for live performances.