Double album has genesis in contrasting eras and seasons

The cast of Galway psychedelic folk group Cubs has evolved and rotated a number of times since its formation sixteen years ago. Sewn together by members of A Lilac Decline, Loner Deluxe, Phantom Dog Beneath the Moon and United Bible Studies, the band is something of a separation for its members from the work they are predominantly known for.

Given the project has long facilitated online collaboration and rarely seen members together in the same room, it is perhaps no surprise that they have flourished through the pandemic.

On July 2, Cubs are set to release River of Amber/Frozen Waterfall – a double album written and recorded in converse seasons.

Among others, it features core bandmates Aaron Hurley, Cecilia Danell, James Rider, Scott McLaughlin and Keith Wallace, whose independent record label Rusted Rail have overseen the release. His explanation of Cubs’ formation gives some context to their style and process.

“It came together in 2005,” Keith recalls. “It was just a couple of people who had been playing in other bands deciding to get together and do something a little bit different.

“Over the years, it’s evolved to take in a bunch of different people on different recordings but there’s a core group of five people who make up the band. I guess it’s strange because it doesn’t exist in the way a normal band would in terms of meeting up and sitting down together to write songs.

“One person will have an idea for a song and send it to somebody else and it kind of does the rounds between everyone and comes back to me to mix it. It’s an unusual approach but that’s the way a lot of people have been recording music since the pandemic started. We’ve been doing it that way for years.”

Frozen Waterfall was released as a digital download last summer but, in River of Amber, it now sits alongside a kindred record in every sense. The atmosphere across both LPs is poignant and delicate.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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