Artist: Belfast Food
Label: Dallas Records
Released: 2008
Rating: 2.5/5
Belfast Food is a Croatian band that mostly plays music drawing heavily on Irish folk. That’s obvious from the name alone. Before I listened to the album I was skeptical that Croats could play good Irish folk, and my doubts turned out to be justified, at least to a degree.
Croatian bands generally have an almost innate feel for rhythmic music and are, in principle, bolder than Slovenian ones, but when it comes to playing Irish folk, that falls apart a bit. Belfast Food is considered one of the most popular and best folk bands in Croatia, but this isn’t the real folk music I’d want to hear.
The problems don’t come from the playing itself, where they’re, as Croats traditionally are, very confident and powerful. Every instrument is played brilliantly, but that genuine Irish feel just isn’t there. The crowd at this show would probably disagree with me, but I think their music doesn’t sound all that authentic. It’s like they’re trying too hard to be Irish, so the end result is exactly the opposite.
The album consists of an audio CD and a DVD. There are no big differences in the track selection, but you do get a bit more music on the DVD, and it’s best to listen to the CD and watch the DVD back to back, so you get to witness the whole concert.
If you prefer just the music and only want to hear the atmosphere, the CD is the better fit, but if you want to add the visuals too, treat yourself to the DVD as well. On the CD you can hear that this is a top-notch band that believes in what it plays, but, as I already mentioned, it doesn’t sound quite authentic.
Right at the start of the DVD, I found it downright silly that the guys marched onto the stage in kilts. Fine, I get it if you’re a nationalist, but how can a Croat be an Irish patriot? Maybe the guys just like showing off their legs and everything hiding under the kilt, luring shapely young ladies backstage. Or it could just be image: if we’re playing Irish music, we have to dress the part (even though kilts are more of a Scottish thing). Anyway, on the DVD you can see the crowd really enjoying themselves and the guys really being masters of their craft.
I’ve already mentioned some of the issues I have with the band, but let me add one more. When they sing in Croatian there’s no problem, but when they play covers (if they’re not translated), their pretty broken English comes to the fore (I’ve heard much worse, mind you). The vocals in general aren’t all that strong, but the instrumental parts are as good as it gets, and that’s why I feel bad about going too hard on Belfast Food. If they were purely instrumentalists, this would be really good folk music (even if it doesn’t sound the most authentic, but then few people outside the British Isles can pull that off), but as it is, this is a product with good moments and weaker ones.
Despite all my criticism, there are quite a few moments on the album where you can enjoy good music. Sure, Belfast Food don’t show anything new or exciting, but the guys clearly know how to throw a good party, and for those occasions they’re more than fitting.
Lineup
Marko Anić – vocals, accordion, acoustic guitar, tin whistle, banjo
Marko Jurić – drums
Erik Malnar – vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, banjo
Sebastian Mavrić – violin, vocals
Alen Širola – bass guitar, vocals, acoustic guitar
Production
Mario Juničić and Erik Malnar
Track List
CD:
01. Bilbo’s dream
02. Rocky road to Dublin
03. Ribarska
04. Lagano, lagano
05. Šporki stari grad
06. Irish rover
07. Mason’s apron [Trliš]
08. Trivijalna stvar
09. The wind that shakes the barley
10. Courtin’ in the kitchen
11. Brancin i ješka
12. Usne od meda
13. Get back
14. Tarantella Fiumana
15. Van iz grada
16. Mate i Matilda
DVD:
00. Intro
01. Bilbo’s dream
02. Ribarska
03. Lagano, lagano
04. Šporki stari grad
05. Irish rover
06. Mason’s apron [Trliš]
07. Sebo solo [Tom Busby’s/James O’Byrne’s/The Four Posts of the Bed]
08. Trivijalna stvar
09. Courtin’ in the kitchen
10. Podravska, Virovska i Koprivnička polka
11. Usne od meda
12. Tarantella Fiumana
13. Get back
14. Van grada
15. Mate i Matilda
16. Fajront
