''Rua'' is the first full-length album by
Irish-
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n band
Clann Zú. The album contains themes of resistance and desperation. The songs are sung mainly in
English, though there is some use of
Irish. The production gives the songs a heavily layered sound, with prominent use of
violin tracks and
Declan de Barra's emotive voice.
There is a video for the track "Five Thousand More" on the CD.
Background
Clann Zú were formed in Melbourne in 1999 and released their debut album, ''Rua'', with the line-up of Benjamin Andrews on
electric guitar, Nathan Greaves on
bass guitar,
Declan de Barra on
lead vocals
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...
and
bodhrán, Russell Fawcus on
electric violin and
keyboards
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
, and Lach Wooden as their engineer and providing sound manipulation.
They relocated to continental Europe in December 2001 and then on to Dublin, Ireland in the following year.
Reception
Stewart Mason of
AllMusic reviewed Clann Zú's second album, ''
Black Coats & Bandages'' (2004): he described ''Rua'' as a " head-spinning debut" and that both albums were "close to impossible to sum up in an easy sentence, because there are so many comparisons."
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic is an American music community website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites. The format of the website is unusual in that it includes both professional and amateur c ...
's Tyler Munro summarised his review of ''Rua'': the group "blurs the line between celtic/folk, indie rock and electronica almost flawlessly to create a unique, organic listening experience."
Adam White of Punknews.org felt it was "a wonderfully original and inspired album" showing "an eclectic mix of styles, with a rhythm section firmly rooted in electronica, instrumentation from Irish folk music and dark melodies that call to mind Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds."
Track listing
Music by Clann Zú; lyrics by
Declan de Barra.
# "Words for Snow" – 4:37
# "Five Thousand More" – 4:14
# "Hope This Day" – 3:17
# "All That You've Ever Known" – 5:34
# "Everyday" – 4:05
# "All the People Now" – 6:31
# "Rí Rá" – 3:22
# "Lights Below" – 6:12
# "Crashing to the Floor" – 2:44
# "You're Listening to a Dead Man Speak" – 6:53
# "Five Thousand More" (Video)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rua (Clann Zu Album)
2003 albums
Clann Zú albums