Lankum - The Livelong Day review | Jude Rogers's folk album of the month

The Guardian 100

(Rough Trade)
Folk standards get extreme makeovers on the Dublin four-piece’s latest, cementing their place at the forefront of the form

Imagine a folk album influenced by the ambient textures of Sunn O))) and Swans, plus the sonic intensity of Xylouris White and My Bloody Valentine. Ever since their first recordings as four-piece Lynched, in 2014, Lankum have been subjecting their songs to increasingly extreme treatments in dynamics, arrangements and length. (Warning: The Livelong Day clocks in at 57 minutes, despite having only eight tracks). Uilleann pipes, concertina and harmoniums drone terrifyingly, sounding drained of their souls. Vocal harmonies evoke the witchy barrenness of Portishead’s Third. But don’t run away screaming just yet.