Originally published by L.S. Media. May 31st 2011.

A band’s second album, as the phrase goes, is their most difficult, for their first they have been writing all their life. For the Sparrow and the Workshop trio, this could be the case, as any follow up to 2010’s release Crystals Fall would have to be gigantic in the extreme and have some critics actually turn on their hearing aids to appreciate what a phenomenal job the band have done in writing Spitting Daggers.

Don’t let the first few soft seconds fool you, once you get past the easy guitar work, the mood changes dramatically to the point you go from subtle fairytale to the imagination of the Brothers Grimm as the guitar and drums combine to create a hybrid of a musical monster that’s a little beautiful and a whole lot of awesome.

Whereas Crystals Fall introduced guitarist Jill O’ Sullivan, drummer Gregor Donaldson and bass player Nick Parker onto a populace it was with a breath of fresh air, this time round the air has become thick with intelligent and provoking lyrics that are almost Poe like in its gothic charm and twisted round the works of Irish greats such as James Joyce.

The tracks appear seamless in their construction and if the old maxim of second album more difficult to make, then this really must be the exception that proves the proverbial. The track listing reads like a Joyce set of short novels too with the stand out tracks of Our Lady of the Potatoes being a chilling use of the English language and dramatic in its delivery and Old Habits being an exercise in having to listen to what the artist is really telling you.

A recording of real worth and up there with the best albums of the year so far, it will be interesting to see if Sparrow and the Workshop finally get the recognition they deserve.

Ian D. Hall