reviews

reviews

Jan 2008

Earle Hitchner, Irish Echo Top 10 Albums of 2007

Launched as a quartet of Antrim and Derry instrumentalists after a night of music at Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann in 2002, Beoga defied custom for a non-ceili band by featuring two button accordionists: Damian McKee and Sean Og Graham. With Liam Bradley on keyboards and Eamon Murray on percussion, Beoga (Irish for "lively") released their debut album, "A Lovely Madness," in 2004 and immediately established themselves as a group second only to Lunasa for all-instrumental inventiveness and dexterity combined. The quartet became a quintet when Niamh Dunne (daughter of Limerick uilleann piper Mickey Dunne) came on board, and "Mischief," the band's second album, retains the earlier instrumental boldness but adds something more: superb singing and fiddling from Dunne. Her renditions of "Dirty Work" and "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone," as different as two songs can get, stand out equally. "Mischief" catapults Beoga into the upper stratum of trad bands from Ireland today

Jan 2008

The Boston Globe: Best cds of 2007

Mischief: “...this young quintet from County Antrim is as innovative as Celtic mavericks like Solas and Lunasa.”

Scott Alarik

Jan 2008

LiveIreland Music Awards 2008

Instrumental Cut of the Year Award for ‘Jazzy Wilbur’ : Beoga's, Mischief was one of our favorite albums of the year, and was a major contender for Vocal/Instrumental Album of the Year. One of the tunes that made us fans forever is a particular bit of brill called, Jazzy Wilbur. Brilliantly arranged and played, it shows this multi-talented group at its best. Real energy--- plus a refreshing and much needed thing in trad music, a sense of humor. The first time we heard, Jazzy Wilbur, we laughed out loud. Very, very special. We are fans of Beoga—big time. Jazzy Wilbur is just one reason---and there are several mopre, including a great singer, Niamh Dunne (also fab on fiddle) thias group is going to be around and really successful a long, long time. Wondrous pieces of music like Jazzy Wilbur are a big part of the reason why. There could have been about six other tunes of theirs that would have won this Award—all perfect—and, all different. We had to pick one. We listened to Jazzy Wilbur the most. Reason enough!!

Jan 2008

Philadelphia Citypaper Top 10 Roots albums of 2007

All the usual suspects are here — accordion, fiddle, bodhran, various guitar-y things laid on traditional Irish tunes — but if you're looking for tunes for your trad dance class, forget it. For those with broad tastes, this rhythm-oriented contemporary reworking of heritage is unbeatable.

Mary Armstrong

Jan 2008

Folk Alley Best of 2007

A quirky, odd, and completely original Celtic band that sounds like no other group in Irish music.

Jan 2008

Dirty Linen Magazine, Tom Nelligan,

Top Ten 2007 releases: Beoga Mischief. One of the best young Irish bands I've heard in a long time, and I loved their Steely Dan cover.

July 2007

Tom Clancy, Irish Music Magazine

Mischief is a journey juiced with Joie de Vivre, a jambalaya of sounds, a tasty stew of various elements deliciously blended. It’s a concoction that could fly off in a million disparate directions but not when it’s anchored by superb musicians with educated ears.

It’s a dream of an album, you know, the one where you catch a bus to Bundoran and get off in Buenos Aires where the Prague Philharmonic greets you. Their musical approach is fresh enough to merit a new term but until something better comes along, let’s call it Beoga-Woogie?

Read the full review here

Jim Blum, Folk Alley

Where has this group been hiding? County Antrim in Ireland, apparently. They've toured Germany with Solas, and they now have an American release on Compass (and you know how picky CEO Alison Brown is). Beoga does not eat at ordinary Irish restaurants with apologies to the potato. Sean Og Graham and Damian Mckee add spice with duel accordions, and guests surprise with a touch of hot sauce in the form of trumpet or flugelhorn - just enough to add flavor without overwhelming you. Fiddler and singer Niamh Dunne has joined them, recreating "Factory Girl" and surprising us with Steely Dan's "Dirty Work." Four-time all-Ireland bodhran champ Eamon Murray and pianst Liam Bradley round out the group. This is how Irish music should taste!

June 2007

Earle Hitchner, The Irish Echo

“...a heady, virtually head-spinning sonic blend stamping Beoga as perhaps the most audacious Irish band rooted in trad today. For finesse, fire, and flirtatious fun, this album is an overflowing treat, and among Irish bands launched in this new millennium, Beoga joins Grada as two of the most promising to watch.”

Read the full review here

May 2007

Cindy Reich, The Celtic Connection (Colorado)

When Beoga released their first album "A Lovely Madness" in 2002, it became my favorite album of the year. It was quirky, innovative and darn good fun! Additionally, this Antrim based band are all extremely talented musicians. Beoga are now back with "Mischief" and I'm delighted to say that this new release is as good as, and dare I say it--even better than the first.

The title track lives up to its name with its fast paced pair of tunes penned by button accordion player Damien McKee. This is one of the great attractions of this new CD--the amount of great new original tunes penned by the band.
"Mischief" is followed up with a jazzy little set called "Kick'n the Box" which is made up of "Luka's wake/Kick'n the box". Lest fans of Luka Bloom become unduly worried, the Luka in question was fiddle player Niamh Dunne's pet mouse. The saxophone work by David Howell is superb as is the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra which joins Beoga on several tunes. In fact, this cut is one of the standout tracks of the album and a good example of what makes this band so amazing.
Beoga's innovative use of outside elements such as the Prague Philharmonic or sax or flugelhorn could be a disaster in the wrong hands. However, Beoga are dead to rights in their musical taste and usage and as a result have produced a sound that is unique, addictive and unbelievably fun.
This doesn't mean they can't do the trad thing as well. A good example is "Ryan's Air"--which although you might be confused to find is in fact a jig--is dedicated to a "certain" airline which smashed Sean Og Graham's guitar.
Songs abound on this release and reflect the eclectic taste of the band with the American ballad "The Factory Girl", Steely Dan's "Dirty Work" and a gorgeous song by Johnny Duhan (best known for his song "The Voyage") called "A Delicate Thing". In a recent trend seen by Kris Drever and North Cregg, songs from the 1920's are coming back in vogue and Beoga have included a ragtime version of "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" in this collection.
The majority of tunes on this release are all originals penned by various members of the band. For musicians seeking out the very latest and best of new material--give a listen to "Cu Chullain's Despair", "Trolleyed", "Jazzy Wilbur" or "Mickey The Pipes".
The whole thing winds up with the lovely, soft "Another Journey" composed by Sean Og and dedicated to all good friends and musicians he has met along the way. "Mischief" is well on the way to being my favorite album for 2007. It could be yours as well. Check it out at: www.beogamusic.com

April 2007

Bill Margeson: The Chicago Irish-American News / Live Ireland.com

Beoga is from Northern Ireland (Antrim) and is a stunning band. They are going to be at Irish Fest this summer, and we cannot wait. The album is entitled, Mischief. The group is Liam Bradley on piano, Niamh Dunne on vocals and fiddle, Eamon Murray on bodhran, Darrian McKee on button box and Sean 'Og Graham on button box, guitar, bouzouki and mandolin. We have been playing them regularly on the radio show since they sent us this new album. It is one of the best this year. Super vocals, a terrific staccato beat to the rhythm with a real sense of style and wit. This is a major, major band to be reckoned with. On several occasions during the early listens, we actually found ourselves laughing out loud to some of the musical inventiveness on tunes such as Jazzy Wilbur and songs like Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone. Emotional resonance in songs like Love is a Delicate Thing meets surprises like the inclusion of the old Steely Dan favorite, Dirty Work. Power and nuance, humor, talent aplenty. Get ready for a long run for Beoga. We love this group and we love this self-produced and distributed album. Rating Four Harps

April 2007

Irish Music Magazine

In Beoga the Irish music world gained another prodigy, a term not lightly used nor given without credit... the band whose debut album carried the torch for experimentalists don’t look as if they are going to stop there. Mischief is definitely a coming of age... the miracle-dust must have been sprinkled by the bucketful during recording with the finished article already emerging as a contender for album of the year. The twelve tracks (Mischief, Kick’n The Box, Factory Girl, Jazzy Wilbur, Ryan’s Air, Dirty Work, Trolleyed, A Delicate Thing, Mickey The Pipes, Please Don’t Talk, Cu Chullain’s Despair and Another Journey) are a homage to the talented five-piece. Hard work and smart moves are the order of the day for soon to be supergroup Beoga...

From Irish Music Magazine, Read the full article here...

April 2007

Living Tradition

On their second CD, Beoga have added singer and fiddler Niamh Dunne to the original line-up of box-players Sean Og Graham and Damian McKee, bodhránist Eamon Murray and keyboards-player Liam Bradley. Niamh delivers four songs here, all loosely modern, ranging from the traditional American Factory Girl to the Steely Dan polemic Dirty Work. She has a fine voice which suits some songs better than others. I particularly liked Please Don't Talk About Me, a wry 1920s ditty played in period style.

Mischief extends the prodigious range of Beoga's debut album to include jazz and classical tracks. Jazzy Wilbur is just what it says, and Mickey The Pipes pays homage to the likes of Shaun Davey and Bill Whelan. For some reason Kick'n the Box reminds me of '70s TV theme tunes with its collage of classical, big band and soul. This might seem a lot of styles on a single album, let alone a single track: you should know that the guest musicians on Mischief include most of an orchestra, a jazz band and a rock combo.

All of this leaves little room for Irish music, but the boys (and Niamh, a fine feisty fiddler) still squeeze in plenty of reels and jigs. The Narrowback, The Trip to Cullenstown and various Beoga compositions strike just the right balance between tradness and madness, that space of genius occupied by Reeltime, North Cregg, Nomos, Davy Spillane, Gordon Duncan and others. The title track is on solid Irish ground, as are Ryan's Air and Another Journey. But Beoga are quick to find fresh pastures: Dippers Dilemma is not the only tune here to blend a bit of Balkan with the Irish, and The Slip-On Gang lurches from Quebecois to Oompah to Cuba on its merry way. They could as well have called this CD More Lovely Madness: glorious, multi-hued mayhem mixed with genius, available from www.beogamusic.com and, if you're lucky, at a venue near you.

February 2007

Hot Press Mischief - NINE POINT FIVE/TEN

A lovely madness, the 2004 debut from County Antrim’s Beoga, is still one of my favourite trad recordings of all time. With top class musicianship, great taste in material and a wonderful ebullience that comes through loud and clear even within the confines of a studio, the band really only lacked one thing, and that was a singer. Well, now they’ve got one. Hailing from County Limerick, Niamh Dunne has a beautifully warm, smoky voice that wraps itself snugly around everything from the upbeat 1920’s ditty ‘Please don’t talk about me when I’m gone’, to a spine-tingling cover of Steely Dan’s ’Dirty Work’, with lovely harmonies from Liam Bradley and Eamon Murray. She’s also a classically trained violinist whose smooth fiddling is the perfect addition to the existing four-piece lineup of accordion, percussion, keyboards and assorted strings. Instrumental numbers include bouncy original tunes from most of the members, in glorious arrangements featuring guest appearances on several tracks from the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, no less.

Copyright © 2007 Sarah McQuaid, Hot Press

February 2007

The Irish Times

BEOGA Mischief ****
Beoga follow up their blistering 2004 debut, A Lovely Madness, with an even more high-spirited collection. Duelling accordions still define the band's identity, but they're augmented by newcomer Niamh Dunne's fiddle and vocals, and by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, no less.
A swathe of their own tunes pepper the set list, and Cú Chullain's Despair captures the effervescence of the band in full, unadulterated swing. The orchestral touches lend more novelty than creative impetus to the band's sound, though. Beoga's bold forays into Americana (Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone) and 1970s jazz/rock (Steely Dan's Dirty Work) whisper at a quintet who relish wide vistas. Less flamboyance in the arrangements might serve them well in the long run, but such kite-flying celebration is a rare thing of beauty.

January 2006

Cindy Reich, The Celtic Connection (Colorado)

Read the full review, click here

Welcome to the Beoga fun house where you will come to expect the unexpected.

Eyes, slightly glazed, grin firmly fixed and unable to be removed. I had more fun listening to this CD than any that has crossed my desk in many a year. Beoga are excellent musicians that are unafraid to take the more interesting path... a stunner!

September 2005

Alex Monaghan, Living Tradition

Read the full review, click here

I haven't had so much fun from a CD in years. A Lovely Madness is a joy from start to finish. Following in the footsteps of Reeltime and North Cregg, and touching the greatness of La Bottine Souriante and The Old Rope String Band, Beoga show how much life and exuberance can be injected into traditional music by a bunch of mad Bs. Here, B stands for box-players (two of them: Sean Og Graham and Damian McKee), bodhránist (Eamon Murray) and backing keyboards-player (Liam Bradley)... A Lovely Madness has to be on anyone's list for outstanding traditional music.

August 2005

William Ramoutar, WFCF Radio 88.5fm, Florida

"Beoga, these guys can really play and have great fun with the music, buy it if you can".

April 2005

Geoff Wallis, Songlines

This young quartet from counties Antrim and Derry certainly lives up to its name (beoga is Irish for ‘lively’)... It’s bedrock lies firmly within the Irish tradition, but Beoga’s own composers (the accordionists Seán Óg Graham and Damian McKee) are experimentalists at heart and keen to incorporate other genres’ nuances into their music or take a sideways glance at traditional tunes... investigative ways and tricky rhythm changes, ‘A lovely madness’ leaves an abiding impression of four strong imaginations in operation.

Read the full review, click here

March 2005

Graziano Pettinari, Keltika

Quando ci metti due accordion, un piano e un bodhrán...

Con una formazione a prima vista insolita, il gruppo originario delle contee di Antrim e Derry esordisce con un cd ricco di composizioni originali in sintonia con la tradizione.

Read the full feature, click here

February 2005

Philippe Cousin, Le Peuple Breton

L’Irlande du Nord, toute annexée qu'elle soit par le Royaume-Uni, n'en reste pas moins irlandaise et ici aussi tes groupes de musique traditionnelle sont légion. Beoga en est le plus récent exemple, ses membres ve-nant des comtés Antrim et Derry. Beoga signifie en irlandais, vivant, plein d'entrain, et voilà bien un nom qui n'est pas usurpé tant les quatre musiciens du groupe dégagent de pétulance... Une décoiffante nouvelle génération de musiciens.

Read the full review, click here

February 2005

Pay the Reckoning

This is music which brims with energy and vitality... their blend of passion, speed and vim works its magic on the traditional tunes just as well as it does on those that they've made themselves. Musically, these guys are very definitely peering down on the rest of us from the uppermost branches ...

View the full review online at www.paythereckoning.com/reviews.html

January 2005

Siobhan Long, The Irish Times

A Lovely Madness ****

Wilfully eclectic or attention deficit disordered? Beoga, a four-piece featuring duelling accordions, bodhrán, bouzouki and piano, turn the tradition on its head with their deliciously-titled début collection.

Individually talented and collectively inspired, this is a quartet who speak a language called music with a fluency beloved of the best multi-linguists. From John Fitzpatrick's string quartet guesting on the gloriously self-deprecating set, Soggy's, to the blues-tinged hornpipe, Amsterdam Blues, cogs are turning and imaginations are colliding with some spectacular results. Conjuring memories of the sharp shock of Sharon Shannon's Coridinio all those years ago, this is a gathering of tunes that screams for a chance to be heard in 3D, if only to see whether their deftness of touch and sheer ebullience carries over to their live performances.

December 2004

Earle Hitchner, The Irish Echo

Yeasty musical brew from Beoga

Legendary jazz composer-bassist Charles Mingus once said, "Anyone can make the simple complicated. Creativity is making the complicated simple." Beoga show their creativity in making the complicated seem simple on their debut album, "A Lovely Madness."

The quartet can play hard-core trad music as well as any pure-drop band, playing that soon yields to the band's penchant for dime-turn changes in dynamics, sly humor in ornamentation, and short bursts of cut-loose soloing... Beoga's yeasty brew of musical arrangement certainly keeps listeners' taste buds tingling... I thoroughly enjoyed "A Lovely Madness" by Beoga, an Irish word meaning "lively" or "vivid." Their CD debut is both, making them a band to watch.

Read the full review, click here

December 2004

John O’Regan, Irish Music Magazine

Intrigued by one of the freshest albums to come out of Ireland this year, John O'Regan went in search of the madcap genius behind the phenomenon that is Beoga...

Lovely and madness are words that when bandied together sound incongruous. However when put in a traditional framework you have something else, you have a great CD title. 'A Lovely Madness' is the debut album from Beoga, a new traditional group from the North of Ireland. The album is both lovely and mad in equal turns, subtlety exists beside total mayhem. For a band that is just over two years old, Beoga's music has the authority of master craftsmen, unafraid to take chances and walk on traditional music's wild side...

Read the full feature, click here

November 2004

A lovely madness: NINE / TEN

‘Beoga’ is Irish for ‘lively’, and that’s certainly an accurate name for this ebullient four-piece from counties Antrim and Derry. With no less than two superb button accordionists on board, plus assorted backing instruments, a knack for penning nifty original tunes, and a willingness to put considerable thought into their arrangements, Beoga should go far. Their debut album covers a vast territory, from bluesy riffs to Astor Piazzola-style jazz to a raunchy New Orleans jamboree vibe – but always coming back to a wonderfully bouncy traditional sound. The CD booklet, meanwhile, is one of the most stylish I’ve seen in a long time, but I looked in vain for a design credit – so perhaps that’s just another of Beoga’s many talents.

November 2004

John O'Regan, Irish Music Magazine

Ok, here is one to turn traditional music on it’s head, Beoga a new quartet from the counties of Antrim and Derry are guaranteed to give pure drop traditionalists a heart attack, why? Because they take the basic traditional form, twist and turn it inside out, and give the music a fresh new coat of paint. Yes, this is trad with a capital P for progressive and it does what it says on the tin. Based around the twin button accordions of Sean óg Graham and Damian McKee, flanked by Liam Bradley on piano and keyboards and Eamon Murray on Bodhran and percussion, A Lovely Madness sets the cat among the pigeons with considerable ease.

The opener Prelude Polkas drives everywhere from Sliabh Luachra to Brazilian Tango, and a string quartet for influence before making zany dashes through Continental accordion flash before returning home to Irish soil all in the shape of five minutes. August 27th meanwhile is a solitary ambient air devoid of experimentation, while the title track starts in traditional waters before kicking out at right angles to Jewish Klezmer and Swing Jazz and Soggy's almost inhabits Carl Hession like baroque quarters.

At times, A Lovely Madness is deliriously madcap in its eclecticism, yet always maintains a level of roots contact. Tearing up the rule book and throwing caution to the wind, A Lovely Madness is traditional music but not as we know it, it’s a lively exhilarating ride but don't forget to fasten your seatbelt.

May 2004

Niall Keegan, Irish World Music Centre, University of Limerick

"Sometimes I despair over some of the dismal, derivative dross that has passed for much of the ensemble or band music in the Irish tradition in recent years. Beoga’s ‘a lovely madness’ has become my antidote to the Irish-band-blues. It marries some of the finest B/C (accordion) playing I have heard for quite some time with some incredible arrangements that pull the best from contemporary and Jazz cultures and compositions that are destined for every sessions' top ten tunes.

This CD goes beyond excellence into the heart of what it means to be a creative artist. If you like and appreciate good music, any music, you will not regret buying this CD."

September 4th 2004

Brian McCart, Gig’n the Bann Festival

Beoga, described by Gino Lupari as "music to make your feet smile", performed to a 600 capacity audience at the Gig’n the Bann Festival 2004. At the end of their set, not only were feet smiling but legs, arms, hands and most importantly of all faces. This band will make many feet smile. Awesome performance!

August 13th 2004

Neil Johnston, Belfast Telegraph

[Ballyshannon Folk Festival review] There were the usual riproaring sets from Seamus Begley and Jim Murray, North Cregg, Sliabh Notes, Beginish and Dervish and I was particularly impressed by the pulsating performance from Beoga, whose four members hail from counties Antrim and Derry. Beoga (their name means "lively", and that's an understatement!) have a most unconventional Irish trad line up consisting of two button accordeons, keyboards and bodhrán, and boy, do they swing! Mark my words, this is a band worth watching.

August 7th 2004

Colum Sands, BBC Folkclub

Beoga means lively and that’s something of an understatement for the music of this innovative four piece band. They really lifted the roof at Ballyshannon festival! Great arrangements, rythmic energy and gear changes in every set of tunes... a very inventive and entertaining band.

February 2003

Black Nun Folk Club, Ballycastle Co. Antrim

We had a real cracker of a night at the Black Nun last week, when our 2nd February guests BEOGA came a calling. The winners of TRADSTARS 2002, were in fine form and performed as if they were competing for the trophy all over again.

The Tradstars came on stage & tore into some of the mightiest Accordion duets ever heard, this side of the Mississippi, superbly accompanied by Keyboards & Bodhran. The Accordions were driven by Damian McKee & Sean Og Graham, the ivories were tinkled & massaged by Liam Bradley & manners were put on the goat skin by Eamon Murray, holder of four All Ireland titles.

These lads, although all seasoned musicians despite their tender years, have only been playing together as a unit for a few short months, however, they are already playing together with terrific confidence. Their arrangements are exciting & inventive & the future looks bright indeed for this group of talented musicians and their unusual line-up of instruments. A large percentage of their stage repertoire is in fact their own material, & if some of their own excellent tunes don't become classics, I'll eat my toupee!

Dick Glasgow, Causewaymusic.co.uk