CURRENTLY…

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO:

FLEET FOXES: IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Originally published in The Irish Times, June 24th 2011

ROBIN PECKNOLD is a hard man to pin down. At one point, it seemed that an interview with Charlie Sheen would be easier to arrange than one with the Fleet Foxes frontman, but when your band is as in-demand as his is right now, it’s to be expected.

When Pecknold is eventually forcibly tethered to a telephone, the setting couldn’t be more perfect. Having ridden the bike he brings on tour to a quiet park in downtown Dallas, the twittering of birds soundtracks the songwriter’s musings on his band’s recently released second record, Helplessness Blues . Yet trying to cram the Fleet Foxes story into a 20-minute phone conversation with a man who hesitates to speak about the album’s fiercely personal themes is a big ask, especially when he frustratingly spends what seems like hours carefully weighing up each question before replying.

PATRICK WOLF: WHO’S AFRAID?

Originally published in The Irish Times, June 10th 2011.

THE CRY of the wolf is a lonely howl, a shriek that pierces the night sky and sends small animals scurrying under the nearest rock. Patrick Wolf, however, is an entirely different proposition. Although the singer is lithe and gangly-limbed, the comparisons end there. Big Bad Wolf? Not with this shy grin and cheery demeanour.