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Heathers

For some time now I've felt like an honorary citizen of Ireland, having married a girl from Dublin and been blessed with two children upon which my wife and I have bestowed the most Irish of names. I've visited the country numerous times over the last 15 years and find myself becoming more intrigued with its history, culture and music with each visit. I've witnessed first hand Ireland's rapid evolution under the influence of unprecedented economic growth and the tidal wave of change brought by the European union. Any such metamorphosis brings with it changes that are both good and bad. The skies of Ireland's major cities have in recent years become thick with giant construction cranes, and its citizens have seen real estate prices hit astronomical highs. Ireland's youth no longer are confronted with the economic necessity of emigration, and expatriates have begun to return home in increasing numbers. The country now faces ironic and unforeseen challenges in the wake of its stunning reversal of fortune.


One notable change is the influx of immigrants from some of the more economically challenged EU countries, most notably Poland. Ireland's Polish population is now the largest outside of Poland, having become so significant that the Irish Times has taken to publishing a polish language insert. The recent Irish film "Once" touches upon the impact of these changes in an optimistic way, but the reality is somewhat less romantic. Historically lenient social services and benefits, make Ireland an attractive destination for people from EU countries fleeing economic hardship, causing a sudden influx of ethnicity to a country of striking homogeneity. Ireland has traditionally struggled only with exodus and the long standing toll of civil war. I think it's fair to say that in the same way the U.S. is known to be a melting pot, Ireland is the exact opposite, and not well equipped to deal with the challenges of globalization.

In the states we like to celebrate and ponder our historic and cultural heritage of the last 240 or so years as if it were the beginning of modernity, but as my wife likes to remind me, numerous Irish landmarks are four thousand years old or more. This mix of the ancient and new gives the country its milieu. One can leave the bustle and relative diversity of Dublin city center, and in forty minutes be driving down a one lane country road past the unadorned ruins of an ancient castle through a village that has barely changed in a several hundred years. Which is not to say that Ireland is by any means a place stuck in the distant past. If anything, the people of Ireland have always struck me as being at ease with dichotomy of these contrasts. For a country which can boast some of the world's greatest authors and poets, actors and musicians, the Irish have generally in my experience, come across as warm and surprisingly humble, gracious and friendly people, with as much interest in the world outside their island as with the latest gossip from the pub.

It seems that all of the history and tradition -- the very Zeitgeist of the country itself, is fertile ground for music. Ireland's musical exports are unprecedented in the level of their success and influence as exporters of Irish culture, which is remarkable given the small size of the country and modest population of three and a half million (or six million if one includes the population of Northern Ireland). Only Jamaica with ska and Reggae can lay claim to anything approximating the worldwide success of Irish music. I've enjoyed Irish popular music throughout my life, initially unaware of its origins, from Horslips to Thin Lizzy, Van Morrison to Dexy's Midnight Runners, Sinead O'Connor, Enya and U2, to The Cranberries, and more recently The Corrs and Snow Patrol. In recent years, given my experience and interest in Ireland, I've become increasingly attuned to the ways that popular Irish musicians often infuse their music with Irish tradition, from the use of acoustic folk instruments, to the employ of distinctive vocal inflections and motifs, to covers of Irish folk songs.

I recently stumbled upon the music and fledgling career of "Heathers" -- a duo of eighteen year old, Irish twin sisters from Dublin, real names: Louise and Ellie Macnamara. The sisters have penned a number of insanely catchy songs, including one titled "Margie" that they sing either in Gaelic, English or both, depending on the version. What struck me immediately was their guileless employ of heavy Irish accents and pronunciation, in a way that reminds me of the way the Scottish band the Proclaimers sing. For me this adds a charming enigmatic element to their lyrics and an exotic quality to their vocalization, in a way that simply strikes me as something new and current. In guessing at their influences, I expect that they grew up on the eclectic variety of Irish radio, which not unlike that of England, runs the gamut from pop standards of the 50's to the 90's to the cheesiest most sentimental dreck pop has to offer, to the top 40, back to back with Irish folk standards, in a way that has no real equal here in the states outside perhaps a handful of college radio stations. In other words, the Macnamara's were probably exposed to all sorts of music. Heathers are clearly influenced by female folk-girl acts like the Indigo Girls, Ani Difranco and more recently Canadian sister duo Tegan and Sara, who they often cover in their live performances.

Given these influences, what makes Heathers interesting is their synthesis of Irish folk with the music of the recent batch of singer-songwriters and post grunge folk punk and alt country artists, in a way that reinvents the genre. Successful genre fusions have been the foundation for many of Ireland's biggest bands -- consider Van Morrison's R&B, Thin Lizzy's Heavy Metal, Sinead O'Connor's funk, U2's alternative anthem rock, the Corrs power pop -- Heathers follow perhaps unwittingly in this tradition, that has produced some of the world's best known popular music. Yet at the same time, they have arrived at a strikingly original concoction, writing songs they intend to please themselves. Rather than travel the well worn road of Irish specific band names like The Young Dubliners, Flogging Molly, or Clannad, Heathers take their name from that quintessential late 80's Hollywood black comedy of the same title, written by Daniel Waters and featuring what would prove to be a defining role for then sixteen year old Winona Ryder. There's certainly a long tradition of bands who have derived their name from the Cinema, yet I find it wondrously amusing and somewhat perplexing that these young women would find a touchstone in a film about jaded affluent and ultimately nihilistic American teenagers who live in a fictional town which in comparison to Dublin, could not be any more different if it were to exist on a distant planet. On one hand, it could simply be the whimsy of having written a song they titled "What's your damage" borrowing from the film that colorful piece of invented dialogue, or on the other hand, something more personally significant given the fact that the film was released before the Macnamara twins were even born.

Contemplating these details beforehand as it were, one might arrive at a preconceived notion in regards to what Heather's music must be, however I expect one will find any such preconception of little use, given their arresting melodies, harmonies and lyrics. Heathers in their brief career already have a small catalog of songs that are both distinctive and self assured, far beyond what might be expected given their relative youth and inexperience. The melding of their voices is distinctive and stunning, even more so when you consider that there are numerous youtube clips of them which were recorded live, with a built in condenser mic, and with the only accompaniment being acoustic guitar played by Louise. In a little under a year, Heathers the band, has generated a tremendous amount of buzz in its home country, including a writeup in the Irish Times as recently as November, and I would not be surprised to find them signed to a major label in 2009, if said labels have anyone left in A&R. The Macnamaras have already done a brief supporting tour of the US band Ghost Mice, and more recently have opened to great reviews for Kimya Dawson of the nascent duo Moldy Peaches. This is quite a coup given the level of attention Dawson has received since her music was featured extensively in Juno. Heathers occupy that precarious position where they could become Ireland's next big thing, or just as easily remain relatively unknown.

In the music business of the 20th century, a middle-aged father of two in Los Angeles was more likely to be struck by lightning or eaten by a shark, than to become aware of the music of a pair of teen musicians from Ireland, that is unless said teens enjoyed the support of a major record label and cooperative radio station conglomerate. In the 21st century, the Internet provides a conduit of media sharing sites like youtube and myspace, which can be combined with blogs and fansites in ways that afford enterprising and talented DIY musicians ways to bypass the music business machine entirely, and reach the ears of a receptive audience unprecedented in its geographic and demographic diversity. Success has never been more directly available to the talented, and musicians and their audience never more directly connected. Groups can build a following and audience for their music before they've recorded a single note, through bootlegs of their performances. In the year following the one in which Digital music downloads became a billion dollar business, it's not hard to predict that traditional record companies and radio stations will continue down their path of increasing irrelevance to the burgeoning careers of young musicians, and I for one find that an incredibly hopeful proposition.

In 2008 Heathers recorded an independent album now available from two different Independent labels. Samples and links can be found on their myspace page.
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Aoife Murphy on :

*your economic views on Ireland are horiffically wrong. . .

David on :

*Aoife,
I'm not sure what economic views you're referring to, but I welcome your comments.

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