clann zu

rua

‘Whoa. This is the last record you need to hear in order to be able to confidently make the statement “Now I’ve heard everything.”

“Rua” is an astounding effort by Clann Z?. Categorizing it properly is simply impossible. Throughout the course of this record the band’s sound ranges from the Chieftains to Gorillaz to Eminem to U2. After that, any attempts to track traceable influences must be thrown out the window.

Now located in Galway and Dublin, this once Australian band originally released “Rua” two years ago. Eventually, they found themselves signing on with G7, who tied a new ribbon around this pleasant surprise and re-released it to the other half of the globe.

Clann Z? innovatively combines sweeping guitar melodies, entrancing violin parts, highly synthetic pulsating drumbeats and vocals that show off a cement-thick brogue.

At points, though, Declan de Barra’s brogue is too thick. Towards the end of “all that you’ve ever known,” the album’s fourth track, Barra’s voice becomes reminiscent of the background music Trey Parker and Matt Stone create for their comedies. It makes you want to sing “Now you’re a man. A man, man, man.”

That aside, nothing really lags behind on this album. All of the songs’ respective parts keep up with the unique pace the opening song “words for now” sets. Even the PC- and Mac-compatible video for “five thousand more” is attention-grabbing.

Next to “words for now,” “all the people now” may be the highlight of the album. It combines jungle beats and trip-hop rhythms with intermittent spoken-word segments and a vocal melody worthy of a new Scorpions hit.

Clann Z?’s use of traditional Irish folk gives a facelift to the genre. Their amalgamation of styles is an unprecedented feat that needs to be lauded. An extensive amount of effort must go into each of the band’s songs.

The band heads back to the studio in a month to work on their second album. Keep an eye out for it, but make sure to pick a copy of “Rua” up too.