Sights and Sounds: Altan, Brock McGuire Band, Keane

There is exciting new music on the way courtesy of a wide-range of notable artists from across the Pond. Altan, the Brock McGuire Band and Keane have already or are set set to issue new releases soon. Here are highlights from my inbox.


Irish troupe Altan set to tour in support of Gleann Nimhe - The Poison Glen

On The Poison Glen, Altan is propelled by a raw energy seemingly channeled from the pub sessions on which the band cut their teeth and which has inspired the last 40 year wave of interest in the “new traditional” Irish sound.

Here are Altan's upcoming tour dates in the U.S. in support of The Poison Glen:

3 March - The Cedar - Minneapolis, MN
4 March - The Ark - Ann Arbor, MI
6 March - Barns at Wolftrap - Vienna, VA
7 March - Sellersville Theater - Sellersville, PA
8 March - City Winery - New York City, NY

9 March - The Music Hall - Portsmouth, NH
10 March - Somerville Theatre - Somerville, MA

Visit the band's page on the official Compass Records site for more information.


Brock McGuire Band - Green Grass Blue Grass

Lauded as the ‘Best Instrumental Irish Band of the Decade’ by the Irish American News, the Brock McGuire Band presents Green Grass Blue Grass, a cross-cultural collaboration which celebrates the music of the Irish and Appalachian traditions.

Paul Brock on button accordion and melodeon, and Manus McGuire on fiddle, are joined on tenor banjo and mandolin by Co. Galway’s multiple All-Ireland champion Enda Scahill, and on keyboards by acclaimed composer and arranger Denis Carey from Co. Tipperary.

Recorded at Skaggs Studio in Nashville TN, with the help of such bluegrass luminaries as Ricky Skaggs, Aubrey Haynie, Bryan Sutton, and Mark Fain this Compass Records release received it’s debut performance at the Grand Old Opry this past March.

Released on Feb. 28, 2013, you can purchase the album on Amazon.com.


Keane's Strangeland due in May

British pop/rockers Keane will release their fourth Cherrytree/Interscope Records studio album, Strangeland, on Tuesday, May 8 in America. It is available for pre-order now at amazon.com.

Four years have elapsed since Keane’s last album Perfect Symmetry; two since Night Train, the mini-LP which followed its three full-length predecessors to the top of the British album charts, securing Keane a place in pop history.

The first single from the forthcoming 2012 effort, “Silenced By The Night” will have an early TV debut on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live on March 12.

Below I've posted the tracklisting for Strangeland:

1. You Are Young
2. Silenced By The Night
3. Disconnected
4. Watch How You Go
5. Sovereign Light Café
6. On The Road
7. The Starting Line
8. Black Rain
9. Neon River
10. Day Will Come
11. In Your Own Time
12. Sea Fog

Information: www.keanemusic.com/