Have At It! DUG

• 1 Cold Frost 01:41
• 2 Have At It! 03:34
• 3 Wheel Of Fortune 03:41
• 4 Katie 02:44
• 5 Livelong Day 03:22
• 6 Fields of Plenty 03:42
• 7 Cumberland Gap 02:58
• 8 Katie Cruel 03:28
• 9 Big Sundown 03:37
• 10 I Reside 03:41
• 11 In Memoriam 04:19
• 12 Good Time People 02:54
• 13 When The Days Cool Down 02:58
• 14 Jubilee 03:47
• Total Runtime 46:26

Info zu Have At It!

Have At It! Is the debut record from the Irish/American band DUG. Comprised of duo Jonny Pickett & Conor O’Reilly, DUG have firmly established themselves as one of the most unique, and relatable forces in the folk music revival, thanks in part to singles like ‘The Big Sundown’, ‘Jubilee’ (shortlisted for two Grammy nominations) and most recent single, the title track from their upcoming album, “Have At It!”.

DUG are an unapologetically modern band. Their music stems from roots in musical traditions spanning both sides of the pond. In one breath, echoing the great American folk troubadours, and in another, comfortably channelling the elder statesmen of Irish folk.

You’ll hear plenty of Irish influence combined with one of the most unique takes on contemporary folk music.

"DUG aren’t big on formality. Their music has been shaped and formed by a variety of locales. Songwriter Lorkin O’Reilly moved to New York from Scotland as a teenager, while multi-instrumentalist Jonny Pickett hails from California. Meeting in Ireland during 2022, Have At It!, their debut album, got its name from an exchange of text messages during the early days of Covid. Lorkin explains:

“Have At It” came from a text message my dad sent to our family WhatsApp group during COVID. At the time, there was that short phase when everyone thought COVID could spread through surfaces. My mum was really worried, so she decided to get a will written. She took a photo of it and shared it in the group chat. In response, my dad sent a picture of his will – a napkin with the words “Have at it!” scribbled across the front!”

The phrase, not surprisingly, also shows up in the rousing chorus of their title track, a crazy quilt of a song. Amidst the wash of guitar, banjo, drum and bass that march through the traditional sounding tune, O’Reilly sings out, “Won’t you lend me a dollar for the fare/ I know Heaven is a long way from here/ And all my money has been spent on ketamine and beer/ Won’t you lend me a dollar for the fare.” Proof positive that despite their music being dressed in fashions that often sound quite old, the two are also quite up to date.

Musically, thanks to their Scottish, Irish, and American backgrounds, they can head in a variety of different directions and do so depending on the moment and their mood. Wheel of Fortune plays off a philosophical banjo and guitar track, while including the lines, “Don’t you know it’s coming around?/ It’s camera lights and TV crowds/ It’s the Wheel of Fortune spinning round.” The song also unreels a state of affairs that’s not necessarily all excitement and adventure despite the lights, highlighting “second-rate salvation” and “a foxhole in the fallow ground.”

Amidst the sparse beginnings of Fields of Plenty, a chorus of voices unfurls a story where the land of unlimited resources isn’t quite as plentiful as it might seem. Banjo, bass and guitar unspool a story of lives of quiet desperation during In Memoriam, while including The Price is Right, along with US TV’s Vanna White. These are desolate moments where protagonists are caught in the crossfire of a world where winning and losing are not always what they initially seem.

The songs on Have At It! deal with the truths we can see as well as those that only appear in the moments of doubt and fear. Jubilee is one of those moments where, along with the drone and banjo, realities reveal how the best we can do is to carry on. “Here’s to shame and here’s to glory/ Here’s to brand new origin stories/ Here’s to taking flight and falling/ Here’s to getting up and walking.” At the end of the day, are there really any other choices?

Their playing never falters, even when it slyly steps beyond the traditional. The opening tilt of Cold Frost is all banjo, though the violin and percussion add a more up-to-date feel. The bass opening Live Long Day moves along in a spritely way, suggesting something more suited to dance floors than ancestral arrangements. The blending of styles and cultures creates a music that remains decidedly unbeholden to the forms and functions of the past even as it plays its way through them.

"Ancient and modern, with Have At It!, DUG have created something both weird and wonderful, an album that takes traditional music and stands it on its ear, blazing trails while maintaining traditional forms." (Bob Fish, klofmag.com)

Conor O’Reilly, guitar
Jonny Pickett, banjo

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