Oisin Leech – The Sugar Club – Live Review
by Killian Laher

Oisin Leech – The Sugar Club – 04/04/24

Lost Brothers singer Oisin Leech has been gaining attention with his solo album Cold Sea, and there was a sold-out crowd for the album launch party.  First up was Kevin Fowley, who played a pair of tracks off a recent EP – Oh, Mongrel and the moody Pisses featuring his rolling electric guitar playing.  He followed these up with what can be best described as some French language murder lullabies, and he promised to release his versions of these in the summer.

For the main set, Leech was joined by Steve Gunn on electric guitar, Roisin McGrory on violin and Graham Heaney on double bass.  The band created a lovely, balanced sound on One Hill Further and Empire, with no instrument dominating, each one given the space to breathe.  October Sun featured a cameo from McGrory on backing vocals while after each song Leech raised a fist akin to a goal celebration.  One of the peculiar highlights of the album is Maritime Radio which features Gunn’s shimmering guitar lines over Deirdre Lowe reading a weather forecast, and Lowe joined the band on the night to do just that, read a weather forecast!

Trawbreaga Bay allowed Leech and Gunn to extend the song’s coda with a gentle guitar jam, and another highlight was the John Martyn-isms of Colour of the Rain.  Later, McGrory performed a stately instrumental, while sideman for the night Steve Gunn performed a solo version of his own Morning Is Mended.  The set concluded with this fine bunch of musicians joining Oisin Leech for a singalong rendition of Wild Mountain Thyme, Leech on bluesy harmonica.  It was a triumphant evening and I suspect many in the audience left with an addition to their music collection.