The Livelong Day

The Livelong Day is an (dark) folk album by Lankum. Especially the songs "The Wild Rover" and "The Young People" are great. It's a good album, but I prefer their next album False Lankum that offers everything this one does and more. Still this kind of medieval drone folk music with a haunting atmosphere is a great listen.

Folk is my lowest-rated genre on the user albums list, but this is an incredible album. A true gem that evoked all the feels.

Primal and witchy. Evokes The VVitch or Wicker Man or some shit. Folk music as folk horror. Sublime.

Wow… this definitely earned a place on a list like this. Some really inventive Irish music - unique experiments going on in the context of a lot of Irish tradition make this well worth the listen! The moody The Pride of Petravore was one of my favorites, but the whole album is a fascinating, entertaining journey.

Thank you for introducing me to these guys. I really needed this like a shot in the arm. Not twee but modern and dark. I'd love to see them live.

Based on the description, I would have never played this. But it's great.

Actually a banger 5

Fuck yes. My own pick would have been *False Lankum*, the album they released after this one in 2023 -- it's maybe a noisier and slightly darker record... Yet there is still some seriously intense stuff going on in *The Livelong Day* as well. So I repeat, "fuck yes". There's been quite a few acts from the recent past I have fallen in love with, but there are not many among them that elicit such a powerful response from me. And the fact that this response is triggered by a group of young traditional folk Irish musicians, with 90% of their repertoire being (for me) obscure ballads and traditional standards -- whose origins sometimes date back to centuries ago -- was something I had definitely NOT predicted on my 2020s bingo card, lol. I'm not a trad folk buff, you see. But the performance captured here -- just like the one captured for *False Lankum* -- is simply riveting. Lankum's music feels timeless, and yet it is also so old. And you get all sorts of amazing pictures in your head listening to it. This aspect is first conveyed by the one-of-a-kind vocals of Ian Lynch and Radie Peat -- mellifluous, yet also abrasive and mysterious, instead of being simply "pretty", with a "grain" that sounds like no other folk singers out there. Underlining this mystery through its uncompromising drive or its daring tones (even for the slower cuts), the music takes no quarters either. The whole gives you the very distinct feeling that you and I and Lankum themselves will be long gone soon enough, and yet those songs will stay, and speak to eternity. Digging out all those extraordinary tunes from the past, and playing them with such conviction, Ian Lynch, Darragh Lynch, Radie Peat and Cormac Dermody are like bearers of the torch. It tightens my throat just thinking about them like that... "The Wild Rover" is a perfect opener for this record -- cinematic and moody -- and the hectic fiddle / viola riffing during its conclusion even takes the song to a higher level. In every album, Lankum sprinkle a couple of compositions of their own, and it's simply amazing that *The Livelong Day*'s second cut and house composition, "The Young People", sounds as great (and ironically as old) as the traditional stuff around it. Great finale for this one as well. "Ode To Lullaby / Bear Creek" is a very cool jam, "Katie Cruel" offers an interesting alternative performance to the one made popular by Karen Dalton, and "The Dark Eyed Gipsy" is a quite perfect. ballad. And what comes next is even better: it's the crazy-as-fuck, assonant, screeching, distorted (?) rendition of "The Pride of Petravore", followed by the closer and other Lankum original of the album, the absolutely moving "Hunting The Wren", a layered and touching tribute to 'unmarried mothers, free-thinkers, alcoholics, prostitutes, vagrants, ex-convicts and harvest workers" during the nineteenth century. Ian Lynch tapped into something ancestral here, and it really feels like he used a time machine to see all those people with his own eyes. As you may have noticed here, Lankum's politics seep in through that sort of track, which is certainly a plus for me. And just for other tracks of this album (and by extent, the rest of their repertoire), some drone-enhanced tones and other precise details feel strikingly modern without sounding off-topic. It's such an impressive closer... So whoever chose this, thank you. And whoever reads this, please also give a spin to *False Lankum*. If you like post-rock adjacent to Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Silver Mount Zion, you'll be surprised by the subliminal commonalities between them and Lankum on this one -- maybe even more apparent than on *The Livelong Day*. I had the chance to very recently share a few words with Ian Lynch at a merch stand after he played with his side-project One Leg One Eyed, as a supporting act to... Godspeed You! Black Emperor! He seemed like an all-around cool dude, and he told me that Lankum plans to tour and release a new album next year. The story's not over yet. But given the sorts of songs Lankum play, that story will *never* be over. Surely that deserves them a spot on this list. Maybe even two. 4.5/5 for the purposes of this list dedicated to essential albums, rounded up to 5 9.5/10 for more general purposes (5 for the stellar musicianship and the inventive production values + 4.5 for the stellar artistry) ---- Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 89 (including this one, along with the other album right after it) Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 110 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 225 ---- Yo, Émile. Je t'ai enfin répondu. Regarde sous... *Demon Days*, de Gorillaz. 😉

I thought this was a very effective blend of traditional music foundations with modern and even experimental excursions. Good stuff.

I liked this a lot. I love Irish music, and this was a really interesting blend of traditional-sounding Irish folk but updated with a more modern feel to it. Will definitely listen again and check out their other work. 4 stars.

It takes a little while to heat up, but the last few minutes of Wild Rover are pretty epic. Reminds me a lot of Alt-J. I'm gonna play Katie Cruel whenever my sister is being mean. Definitely kept me more engaged than I initially thought it would. Definitely some dark and heavy folk music.

What a beautifully spooky album with all of the different instruments, especially the strings playing really low tones. Felt like I was in a crazy dream for most of this. Really flew by because I never really knew what was going on but was a great experience.

Fleet Foxes, but turn the lights down. Not something I can see myself ever really reaching for again in my life, but it was rather pleasant. Could make a good soundtrack to a movie, but is a bit too moody for real life. Maybe for a funeral.

I enjoyed this quite a bit more than I expected on the face of it. Quite moody and I thoroughly enjoyed the droning usage throughout. Favorites of mine were closer Hunting the Wren, jaunty The Pride of Petravore, and Ode to Lullaby. Not something I'd listen to a ton, but a solid listen no less. Low 8 in my book -- an unexpected win.

Ok, this is some cool genre music. GOT vibes

Highly atmospheric folk, a good listen!

I have a feeling that there is a very small niche group of people outside of Ireland that love this kind of music. It’s very much a unique blend of Irish music, folk, and monk chanting. Some of these songs were way too long. This is great if you’re on a spiritual journey but for casual listening it’s not ideal. 4.6/10

Very traditional Irish folk. Liked this a lot

Slow moody Irish folk. Not a jig in sight. This was a really cool change of pace. It did start to lose me a little bit during "Katie Cruel," but brought me back with "The Pride of Petravore." Rounding up the 4.5

Unexpected but highly enjoyable. Great voices and good song style. It's a 3-star album, but I'll give it a 4 just because a good falsetto song can always catch my attention.

Some of these artists are so made up I swear It’s pretty good tho

Surprisingly meditative

Not my cup of tea but appreciate this

Folk. Ni fu ni fa.

Nice album if you are drinking tea on a porch in a foggy Celtic field somewhere

Not bad

Rating : 5/10

Wasn’t really in the mood for some dirges today, Irish or otherwise. The instrumental execution here is incredibly well-done and I can’t fault the band at all for anything technical, I’m just not personally jazzed by this folksy traditional music.

The Livelong Day is pretty dull folk to my ears, it's dark and moody and eerie and maybe that works for people but it bored me more than anything else. 2, I'm sure someone enjoyed it though.

Slow boring folk - sounds more English than Irish at points