Corner Boy have released their highly anticipated self-titled debut album. I spoke to Mick D’Arcy about the album, the band’s upcoming shows and how the tracks on this album span 10 years of the band’s creativity.
“We’ve been together as a band for 10 years. So I think the best thing about this process was that a lot of the songs we were able to revisit. We would have written some of the songs as far back as maybe 2013 and 2014. So there is a lot of newer material on the album but this was a great opportunity to revisit songs and take the songs as they were presented from us from a younger age, and with all of the years of experience, of being on the road, playing live shows and, other recent releases take all of that knowledge and breathe new life into these older songs as well. So it’s been an incredibly interesting and exciting process for us.”
“A lot of them would have been early demos that we would have released and kind of bootleg CDs that we would have taken on various tours with us but a lot of the songs haven’t been released formally. Many people who come to our shows and friends would say to us regarding a couple of the songs “Why haven’t you released that? you know, as a studio album version. That’s my favourite song. You should really release that”. So I guess with the album, we did take that into account with a few of those songs and we’re delighted to properly present it to the world now”
The band have found the perfect blend of folk, rock, traditional, bluegrass and alternative within this album to create a unique and rich sound that showcases each member’s individual musical prowess.
“I guess the sound of the band has evolved over the years. We’ve dabbled in heavier, more loud, harsher sounds, the quieter singer-songwriter side, bluegrass, traditional Irish music, so I guess this album in essence is the exploration of all of that and it’s us arriving at this point where we are comfortable and have clearly defined our sound. So that’s the concept, our journey through the years to arrive at this signature sound that we’ve been trying to establish for such a long time and we really feel we’ve gotten this with this collection of 10 songs, they really represent the band, what we were and what we’ve become along the way.”
Throughout the album, the songs are bright, hopeful and a joy to listeners’ ears. ‘Morning Morning’ is a glorious example. It’s uplifting with each instrument adding a bright twinkle throughout while lush vocal harmonies and banjo elements add a hearty sing-along aspect. This wholesome soundscape cushions the listeners from the melancholic lyrical content.
“That song I guess we were going through a period of writing sombre down tempo songs. The song itself, it’s a really energetic and positive-sounding song. But lyrically it’s really about a person who’s struggling to get out of bed in the morning. They’re struggling to see a lot of positivity in the world. So we decided to take this concept, a sad theme and write it with the backing of really hopeful and entertaining music. So we’re constantly challenging ourselves and giving ourselves these little projects, there’s another song in the album called ‘The Sea’ and that was another example of us just giving ourselves something ambitious to look for. We wanted to create the loudest most impactful song that we’ve ever written and we felt we achieved that with that as well. Sometimes a lot of the songs and particularly with ‘Morning Morning’, it really starts from this simple idea of taking a subject matter or context and then playing with it and hopefully finding some positive results in the writing process.”
‘The Sea’ follows the darker lyrical theme of ‘Morning Morning’ however with this song the band allow the music to reflect the sombre songwriting. With a thumping beat, thudding guitars and jangly banjo the band manage to create a sense of turmoil through expressive instrumentation. D’Arcy sings “I know That pain, Seen it before, it’s taking my heart, taking it whole” over evocative instrumentation that highlights the band’s ability for creating cinematic soundscapes.
“I guess, ‘Morning Morning’ is interesting because that song is more of an affirmation for somebody who may be in a position of struggling in certain aspects of their life. I guess that’s one way of approaching the songs. With regards to ‘The Sea’, that was more trying to incorporate the notion of painting in a landscape and characters and feelings into the song that reflects those landscapes. So unfortunately, there’s a very high rate of suicide in Wexford town and at the time when we were writing the song it almost felt like every weekend that we woke up, we found out a friend of ours or somebody that we know, had passed away, we wanted to write a response to that. At the time we wanted to explore the notion of there are ups and downs, life is choppy waters at times and we wanted to write something that was a response to what was going on around us. So, again a different way of looking at a challenge and writing songs but something that we felt we were able to reflect that energy, that particularly stormy time in Wexford town where we’re all from, it wasn’t great, but we felt like we needed to respond and we needed to create something as a response to that. “
The album ends with ‘I Dream Of Boston Town’ a tender ballad delicately presented through soft instrumentation and Celtic tones. It’s a beautiful and heartbreaking way to end the whirlwind journey of this album.
“That’s a song that we had on the back burner for a long time. We weren’t even sure that we were going to include it because it’s seven or eight minutes long, but then we just said we really do need to include it. When we play it live, we typically have the room singing back to us that chorus chant at the end. We felt that was a song that felt like a short story but it needed to tell the story of the heartbreak, the connection or disconnection between two people, the breaking down of something, the original building of something and then watching it subsequently break down. So it is a long song, but it’s different from any kind of single that you might release to radio. This song was really a short story and we felt that it just offered something very different from your standard three to four minutes single. So yeah, we just thought it showed a different dynamic to the band, or a different ability within us to write a different kind of song.“
‘River Born’ is perhaps my favourite song on the album. The vivid storytelling mixed with warm instrumentation creates this almost anthemic and comforting sound that is irresistible. With a sweet string refrain woven between driving rhythms and bright guitars, it’s a glorious tune full of emotion. D’Arcy explained to me which songs on the album he is most proud of.
“That’s a really good question. I think the most recent song we finished before doing pre-production for the album was a song called ‘Blackstairs Winter Snow’, which is the first track on the album. So I guess there’s probably an element of recency bias there but that was a moment where we felt as a band we really arrived at a collective sound that for us felt so distinctive, it felt so unique and different. So it felt that we had gotten to this point where all of that learning over the years, trying to understand how we would use guitar sounds effectively within our songwriting, how we would use our exploration of synthetic music as well. It felt like we found a real safe comfort zone to be able to amalgamate all of those things and yeah, for me, it would probably be a song like ‘Blackstairs Winter Snow’. We have six members of the band, each one would probably tell you that they have a favourite different song and hopefully that’s a testament to the strength of the collection of the 10 songs on the album that they all have different dynamics, different stories, different viewpoints. So hopefully, when people are listening to it, it’s a case that each individual person might see something that’s reflective of them, they might have their own individual favourite in that way.”
Fans can catch Corner Boy live on Friday 2nd December in Whelans and Saturday 10th December in National Opera House, Wexford. These songs are going to be epic live. D’Arcy explained to me what fans can expect from the shows.
“Yeah, that’s the plan. We’ve spent the last six weeks building our live show, rehearsing every week for it. So just trying to make it better and better and refine it as much as we can. So we’re really really excited. Our hometown album launch show in the National Opera House is sold out and we have limited tickets left for Whelan’s now on December 2, so we’re really really itching to get up on stage. We played the Ruby Sessions in Dublin and that went incredibly well. So that’s gotten us match fit as well. So itching to get going. We’re building and can’t wait to play the shows. Hopefully, we’ll be getting out on the road to tour them as well next year. So really, really exciting times for us after a long time waiting”
Showcasing poetic lyrics and dynamic instrumentation Corner Boy’s self-titled album is a fine display of the band’s poignant musicianship. Each track leaves you craving to hear more. The album is a truly special and immersive listening experience.
Stream the album below
Author: Danu
