6. LankumFalse Lankum
Of course it’s entirely subjective, like trying to pin down mercury with your finger, but if there is such a thing as the best band in the world, I think Lankum have a claim to that title. I could have chosen any one of their records, I think they’re all really, really good, but False Lankum is the latest stage they’ve arrived at. I love the ‘Fugues’, the way the whole record is woven together in this really fantastic way. I think [John] “Spud” Murphy is a spectacular producer, and the band themselves are just such great musicians. I absolutely love them.
Embarrassingly, our friend Meschiya Lake, a singer from New Orleans, knew them when they were [under their early band name] Lynched, and when they were playing in New Orleans she said ‘You should come and see these guys.’ It was a really hot day and I just didn’t fancy going out. I wasn’t meaning to be rude, it was just like ‘Not really, I’d rather stay in and get a bit high and watch some crap on the television.’ Then, of course, as Lankum, they were at Shane’s 60th birthday at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, where they did an a capella version of ‘The Old Main Drag’ that fucking tore the roof off the place. So we went and shamefacedly confessed to our stupidity.
