Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

The melodrama of it all, the upsurge in tempo, the outstanding narrative and quirky, tongue in cheek sense of humour, all in a day’s work it seems for The Eskies and one that has come to enshrined as a platinum standard of music for the Dublin quintet as they release their second And Don’t Spare the Horses.

Melodrama at its very best can harness the spirit in more ways than even the greatest of theatrical productions can achieve, it is popular, acclaimed and full of a human pulse that is wildly out of time, sensational and yet never truly exaggerated, despite the clothes it wears. Instead, what it shows is that inside a person’s heart is the aching joy of getting with the jig, of using self-deprecation as a means of deflecting the emotional and in all it provides the one aspect of life we all adore, it gives us the appreciation of fun.

Fun and reflection, a multitude of stories told in a wild fashion, And Don’t Spare the Horses is an album that knows when to free the reins, to allow the notion and idea to shake off the coach and run on in to the distance, the power of the equine is to revel in its freedom.

In tracks such as I’m Not Sorry, Building Up Walls, the brilliance of Napoleon, Shame, I’d Rather Be Lonely and the sorrow-filled lament of Death To The Sentry, passionate foot stomping, the leaping of volcanic voices and sincere tales of woe, love, anger and upheaval are full of the majestic irreverence, a sense of glory and conquest that is impossible to ignore. If there is power enough in an album to change a person’s mind about a certain genre, then And Don’t Spare the Horses should be played with dedication across the land to let people understand just how stupid it is to have pre-conceived ideas in the first place.

A wonderful and absolutely spot on album; one on which to raise a glass to and savour; passion of positive creation all in one foot stomping moment!

Ian D. Hall Show more