False Lankum

Lankum - False Lankum
Critic Score
Based on 12 reviews
2023 Ratings: #35 / 757
Year End Rank: #9
User Score
Based on 626 ratings
2023 Rank: #164
Liked by 87 people
Sign In to rate and review

CRITIC REVIEWS

100
The Guardian
Without ever diluting their power or abandoning their gothic intensity, the Dublin group’s fourth album lulls the listener with songs of exquisite softness and deeply affecting harmony.
90
AllMusic

False Lankum sounds like industrial music from the 19th century and provides all the comfort of a late period Scott Walker album. And yet, the road of Lankum's career has resolutely led them to create this: a difficult, but defining statement, made at the height of their powers.

90
Uncut
Lankum have found a convincing way to keep the damn hulk going, stoking the engines of folk tradition and setting course to who knows when.
90
Northern Transmissions
It is a beautiful marriage of old and new and a tribute to past, present, and future musicianship and songwriting. This album is historical, is the best way to put it. Storytelling and music writing, fit for the history books.
90
The Irish Times
Radie Peat’s raw, uncompromising vocals stand out in a collection that positions Lankum in a space utterly their own.
80
Clash
‘False Lankum’ will one day too become a historical artefact. But it is one which will brighten the future of those who devote time to its unique majesty.
80
Mojo

If modern folk music needs its own OK Computer, its own The Dark Side Of The Moon, or indeed its own F#A#∞, this may well be it.

80
Record Collector
On their stunning third album, their takes on ancient works, forged when stationed on the secluded Dublin coast, reach further than ever.
80
XS Noize
They prove the future of folk music in Ireland is in good hands.
77
Pitchfork
The Dublin group has spent a decade making folk music sound foreign and transfixing. Its spellbinding new album uncovers eerie new depths in centuries-old forms.
70
The Needle Drop
Heavy, beautiful, and dramatic in its best moments.
AllChup
100

Folk is extreme, centuries–old forms and the Middle Ages in the modern world, crazy multi–instrumentalists - experimenters with the soul of punks from Dublin, they play 30 instruments, only one mystical instrument of furs and threads creates magic, one of the most powerful and significant records of the year.
© 2023

AndrewMoore
71

So much of what I listen to these days just blends together and Lankum delivered a welcome break from the monotony. A wild and unique album that while not something I will likely revisit, I’m sure glad it exists.

SongOfTheFens
90

Lankum may be a band of traditional music, but they seek to do anything but rehash tradition.
Their discography has warped the very nature of Irish music from its reputation as music for a night at the pub into something that feels unnervingly cognizant of the tumultuous history of the land and its people. For their 2019 record “The Livelong Day” the band spoke of how, “the way Irish culture is portrayed is often misrepresented… leprechauns are part of Irish ... read more

Usermaatre
83

Straight out the vaults of neofolk tradition with this one. Mixing dark folk with noise music isn't exactly a new tradition, but these guys feel pretty refreshing for the genre. It helps that not every song sounds the same, which is often an issue with the genre. There's a lot to love here. I feel bad I missed this when it came out

notarya
75

35 -> 75

i regret it

manicure
76

Reworking traditional ballads of Irish traditional music, Lankum provide a convincing experience, enveloping the listener in a somber and melancholic atmosphere that masterfully merges tradition with a contemporary affinity for electroacoustic droning, post-industrial sounds, and hypnotic loops, creating an ominous and ritualistic ambiance. While I’m not too fond of the vocals (especially when playing solo), the album shines in its rich and multilayered arrangements, captivating with a ... read more

Purchasing False Lankum from Amazon helps support Album of the Year. Or consider a donation?
Become a Donor
Donor badge, no ads + more benefits.
Advertisement

Track List

1Go Dig My Grave
8:38
90
2Clear Away in the Morning
7:00
80
3Fugue I
1:06
69
4Master Crowley's
5:45
80
5Newcastle
5:43
82
6Fugue II
0:59
68
7Netta Perseus
4:40
78
8The New York Trader
7:40
84
9Lord Abore and Mary Flynn
8:38
78
10Fugue III
2:05
68
11On a Monday Morning
5:12
77
12The Turn
12:58
83
Total Length: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Sign in to comment
2mo
2mo
3mo
3mo
3mo


Added on: February 8, 2023