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Secrets of the Day is The Killdares’ fifth album, released ten years after their first album Broken with a Word.
This album demonstrates The Killdares’ approach to Celtic/Rock fusion. The piping and fiddling on this album are an excellent
demonstration of a non-traditional approach to playing those instruments. The problem with this album is drums are way too loud
compared to the other instruments. That and the effects on the vocal track make it very hard to hear the lyrics.
Lyrics were very poetic, with lots of rhyming words at the ends of lines. The drum beats kind of blend together on most of
the vocal tracks after listening to the album for a while. I don’t know what to compare their rock sound to. It’s medium tempo
rock, but it’s mellower than most popular rock groups from the last 40 years. My favorite vocal tracks are “Along Came You,”
the title track “Secrets of the Day,” and “Push” because they all have significant groove shifts within the songs and really
feature the guitar, fiddle and pipes. “Along Came You” has a very interesting fiddle loop under the verses.
There are only three instrumental songs on this album: “Long Island High,” “Glasgow,” and “Rose de Lay.” All of the
instrumentals are wonderful demonstrations of how traditional tunes and instruments can be used to create killer songs.
“Glasgow” has a wonderful lilt that could be fun to dance to at a live show.
The most annoying thing about this album is the bass and drums dominate the mix. When played at a low volume the drums and
bass seemed about twice as loud as the other instruments. When I have this album cranked in my car I would get headaches from
the pounding. I would have liked to see fewer effects on the tracks – but I’ve always been fond of pure instrument sounds.
All in all, this is a good album if you like The Killdares’ style of fusion. It has a nice variety of instrumentals, vocals,
and showcases the talents of all the band members. If you want to check it out go to The Killdares’ Web site and check out all
the online retailers selling this album.
Rating system:
 | Don’t waste your money on this. |
| Has some cool elements, not my cup of tea. |
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| Good middle of the road, will occasionally appear on my iPod. |
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| Wonderful album with something for almost everybody. |
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| Buy it. Trust us on this one. |
About the Author
Liz Patton is the founder of Celtic Music Nations, an avid Celtic musician and fan. She has played guitar and bass for over a decade, and occasionally dabbles in other
Celtic instruments like mandolin, bodhran, fiddle and tin whistle. She wrote and edited for the University of Texas at Arlington's student paper for two years.
She has an Associate's in Commercial Music from South Plains College, and a Bachelor's of Music from UT Arlington.
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