Eleanor McEvoy in Concert

Mostly written and recorded during lockdown -  it is no surprise that the title of Eleanor McEvoy’s album is “Gimme Some Wine”. 

On this, her sixteenth album, the music is both nostalgic and contemporary. Older genres of music - music hall, post war, 50s, 60s styles are combined with fragments of Spanish, Jazz, Mexican, classical, Russian and folk music and then juxtaposed with contemporary drums, bass, or drum loops to form something that feels both entirely new and utterly familiar. 

Thematically, there’s a sense of combining polar opposites. Being back in Dublin, but looking globally. Savouring and embracing solitude, but relishing the company of friends. Reflecting on the past whilst anticipating the future. These themes are reflected throughout almost all the songs on the album.

The title track ‘Gimme Some Wine’ is dedicated to British artist Chris Gollon, Eleanor’s artistic collaborator who passed away suddenly in 2017. 

‘South Anne Street’ is the fourth single to be released from the album, it follows hot on the heels of “Scarlet Angels” and “Gimme Some Wine”. The song describes meeting a former lover by surprise on a Tuesday afternoon

‘Scarlet Angels’ was inspired by the recent ‘A Woman’s Heart Orchestrated’ concerts with the RTE Concert Orchestra where McEvoy, Wallis Bird and  Maura O’Connell all wore red on stage. A bit like the album as a whole, the song is an homage to the healing power of friends and music.  

‘Almost Beautiful’, a co-write with (ex The Beautiful South guitarist and songwriter) Dave Rotheray,  describes the mental decline of a loved one. Rotheray is quoted as saying “We went to the pub after writing that one” 

Through this fusion of bygone and modern, established and innovative, McEvoy creates something totally fresh but with a taste of the familiar…with, perhaps, a glass of red on the side.