Time will do as time does. It will pass. And yet, it doesn’t always play by the same rules. Thirty seconds on your sweat-stained treadmill can feel like triple that, while hours can slip away like mercury if spent at the bottom of a pint glass. And although we like to pretend it does, time does not judge us all equally. Take music for instance, where two years can seem like a lifetime in a career. But if it’s well spent, then it can account for much more than that, as Pale Lanterns can attest. A year removed from their victory at Chordblossom’s Kickstart and another still from their formation, the brainchild project of Darragh Donnelly has been squirrelling away, honing their songs for the release of their debut album ‘Old Animals.’ Time, it seems, has judged them worthy.
Revelling in the same glens of indie-folk as Conor O’Brien, the footsteps of 'Old Animals' seems both well-trodden and fresh at the same time. And like all good folk, variants or otherwise, it has the mentality of a drifter; restless, enduring and stoic. Combing a breathless simplicity with a potent cocktail of wavy psychedelia, odic melodies and celestial sounds, Old Animals defines the term ‘greater than the sum.’ Stretching endlessly in foreign directions, some man-made and some carved by age, this is not a record for those with an eye on the destination, for the halls of this release are wide, winding and lined with imagery.
Indeed, few debuts can call on a quagmire of harmonies that so easily bridge the gap between visual and aural. Found and created noises float in and out of focus with a hazy meander, like echoes of memories or premonitions of the future, guided only by the gentle, unassuming croon of Donnelly. Throughout, the frigid vocals are often the only point of reference, condensing in-front of you briefly before dematerialising back into their comfortable isolation, eternally out of reach. This is a recurrent theme throughout, an incongruently tangible feeling of intangibility, a sense of fingers scraping the edge of something alien in the purple twilight of ‘Woollen Hands’ or a sudden flash in the crepuscular peripheral of ‘Sunburn.’ You never feel truly welcome, resigned as you are to the role of an observer, constantly on the lookout for the best vantage point. Thankfully, this happens to be the best position, as Donnelly’s deliberate push out of the centre allows you to appreciate the swollen scope of ‘Old Animals’ as it passes over the ancient and the advanced.
Nowhere is this truer than in ‘Orbits,’ the strongest track on the release. Much as the title suggests, it drifts gracefully overhead, buoyed by ghostly melodies and detached strumming, the distant electronic pulse adding to the inky solitude of Donnelly’s ethereal landscape. Bound by the spiritual flow of folk whilst also soaring amongst the stars, the ease at which this number floats through a morass of tribal and progressive influences without ever landing is a thing of beauty in of itself. Its cold tendrils can be found from beginning to end. Even in warmer tracks such as the hearty ramble of ‘AKA Jack’ or warped inflection of ‘Hold High Your Love’, the denial of human connection in favour of spacey, indie trip-folk is integral to ‘Old Animals’ artistry and charm.
A gorgeous, effortless listen from one of Northern Irelands more under-appreciated acts, the debut effort from Pale Lanterns is a ringing endorsement for looking time in the eye and shooting back defiance. Because if somethings worth doing, it’s worth doing right.
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