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Gig review: Guidewires

The Scotsman: link

Published Date: 25 January 2010
By Barry Gordon

STRATHCLYDE SUITE, ROYAL CONCERT HALL, GLASGOW
****

YOU have to wonder about a band who decide to release a live album as their debut offering. Case in point: Ireland's Guidewires. So polished and measured is their live performance, you only have to close your eyes and you'd swear you were listening to them on the latest hi-tech stereo.

This hairy bunch from the Emerald Isle aren't exactly a visual treat, either (no offence, boys), hence the emphasis here is on sound rather than jumping around like, say, those loonies, The Treacherous Orchestra for example. But that's not to say Karol Lynch (bouzouki), Tola Custy (fiddle), Padraig Rynne (concertina), Paul McSherry (guitar) and Breton flautist Sylvain Barou don't indulge in a bit of craic, either – they do.

With tunes given such quirky titles as Everyone Fancies Helen Mirren and The Recession Jig, this superb quintet might not take themselves too seriously, however, their music most certainly is. From Ireland to the Middle East with a whistle stop towards Breton, Guidewires sound like a modern day Bothy Band. Musical error, you suspect, might be treated harshly backstage afterward; however, rarely, if ever, did a note slip or slide anywhere than its designated target. Top stuff in other words.

The Living Tradition Magazin - Jan '10

"Hotly tipped to be one of the biggest new releases of the year is “Live” the debut album from Guidewires."

Irish Music Magazine album review for Guidewires "Live" Nov '09

A new band is always intriguing, but this one promises something special. Padraig Rynne and Tola Custy on concertina and fiddle are well known names, stalwarts of Clare music. Emerging bousouker Karol Lynch and Breton fluter fantastic Sylvain Barou bring less predictable facets to Guidewires. The group is tied together by Belfast guitarist Paul McSherry: no better man for the job. Recorded live in Ennis, this album presents a purely instrumental mix of original tunes, compositions by a wide range of modern celtic composers, and some pure traditional pieces. The result is a fabulous hour of exciting music.

Starting with a superb flat-picked version of Paul's own tune Hoodwinked, Guidewires launch into a lovely Brendan Ring composition before Sylvain's Recession Jig ends the first set. Padraig shares the credits with Mike McGoldrick on a pair of powerful new reels, followed by Tola's beautiful slow version of Fred Finn's. After a couple of Riverdance-style jigs, and a haunting selection of Breton tunes with that raw Atlantic edge, Karol's composition Marbh Bán adds a moment of calm and a first taste of Balkan rhythms. There's no mistaking the Bulgarian beat on Vicki's World, and the lads follow it with the Eastern European favoutite Dance of Suleyman. A pan-celtic track ending with Cariáu Llaniscu (from Asturia I think) brings us to a hint of Donegal and Padraig's lyrical Liosbeg, before the second of three Donal Lunny melodies re-introduces the Balkan theme. Sylvain Barou's exceptional flute tone is on show again with two Brian Finnegan tunes, Marga's Moment and the jaunty Crooked Still Reel, before Mr Lunny takes a final royalty on Step Ahead Polka. Guidewires wrap it up with a set of classic reels, Padraig to the fore on Dinny O'Brien's before Tola growls in with McDonagh's and Sylvain takes an occasional breath during Bill Harte's.

Magnificent throughout, this quintet offers variety and brilliance on every track. All five members perform exceptionally here, and the ensemble sound is a dream. Comparisons with Danú, Nomos and even Lúnasa wouldn't be unreasonable: Guidewires could give anyone a run for their money. This debut CD is 2009 top ten material. The website has lots more info and a few well-hidden samples.

Alex Monaghan - Irish Music Magazine - nov '09

Paul Barr - Readings Carlton, Melbourne, Australia - Oct '09

Not many traditional bands can touch this fivepiece for sheer virtuosity, let alone the audacity of launching themselves with a five all-instrumental album. Paul McSherry (guitar) and Pádraig Rynne (concertina) are already big names on the Irish scene, but the other players, including Breton musician Sylvain Barou (flute), Tóla Custy (fiddle) and new bouzouki rhythym maestro Karol Lynch are equally brilliant on a mostly contemporary set of tunes with a wide variety of moods and colours and shifting tempos.

Irish Examiner article by Gerry Quinn 26/08/09

Guidewires Live, is the debut from a newly formed quintet featuring
four young Irish men and a Breton - Tóla Custy (fiddle), Pádraig Rynne (concertina), Sylvian Barou (flute), Paul McSherry (guitar) and Karol Lynch (bouzouki). Definitely on the progressive side of the trad tracks, Guidewires operate a modern approach when plying their trade. Reflective of urbane, educated and travelled protagonists, this innovative offering, though primarily populated with self composed material, Galician and Breton tunes, still has, as its core, an appreciation of the indefinable thread that runs through traditional music. Assured ensemble playing, mixing high-energy with slower reflective pieces, all unite into a powerful debut. Although it might not be the single-malt whisky that the purists demand, this enchanting cocktail of influences, with a solid traditional base, heralds the arrival of a top-notch combo, who appear very much at ease with their role in the scheme of things.

Guidewires – “Live” album review the Irish Times, 14/08/2009

GUIDEWIRES “Live” ****
There are many remarkable things about this debut. A cacophony of sound melded with such vivacity and joie de vivre that it leapfrogs into the ether without even a whiff of a by-your-leave, Guidewires’ debut rips up the rulebook and tosses it in the air. Only the foolhardy or the truly audacious would release a live recording as a debut, but Guidewires (Pádraig Rynne, Tóla Custy, Paul McSherry, Karol Lynch and Breton Sylvain Barou on flute and low whistles) jettison the safety net of the studio in favour of the vim of their live performance. A torrent of Guidewires’ original tunes rages through a rich traditional foundation (and some lovely reminders of Dónal Lunny’s compositional genius), rip-curling their way into the air faster than most mortals can draw breath. A spectacular, multicoloured debut.

Siobhán Long , The Irish Times.

The Feast Of Music, New York Jan '09.

"The stars of the night were Guidewires, another five-piece who played tight, energetic music that seemed like it was ready to explode off the Donaghy theater stage."