Ursula Burns has written a bunch of memorable lyrics over the years, from ‘Sinister Nips’ and ‘Continental Boys’, to ‘Small Square Parks’ and ‘Heartbreak Was Heartbreak’. But on the new record, words are banished and the harp has full dominion. It’s a chance to indulge and evoke, to let the maverick style contend with bardic traditions, Latino flourish and semaphore bleeps. It sounds rich and unfettered. As the album title suggests, the tunes indicate roots and blossom, endurance and ecology.
There’s a trip to Paraguay and ‘El Jardin de Eliza Lynch’, a remembrance of great vistas and a formidable Irish exile who imprinted on the nation. Ursula is joined by piper John McSherry and his playing has the exact ratio of sweetness and soul. On ‘Night Circus at Bog Meadows’ the tumbling melody connects to a peculiar dance rhythm (a sarabande? a tarantello?) and producer Dónal O’Connor is encouraged to grab his fiddle and journey forth.
She leaves us with ‘Where the Sycamore Used to Be’, a lament and an invitation to carry the shame for our derelict ways. Altogether, this record is a quality stretch of art and a prompt for the listener to contemplate a magic that may still outgrow the roar of the chainsaw.
Stuart Bailie
Twitter