Having already seen off one batch of depression and emigration in the past, Tuam’s finest are back with their take on the state in which the country is now in. And as you can see from the title of the track, they’re not the most optimistic on the subject. Despite this, the song is arguably one of their best from the past ten years.
Recorded before Michael D’s victory in the race for the Áras, ‘Hazard’ is the band in top form, showing that after a quarter of a century playing packed-out gigs across Ireland and beyond that the band still have that spark in them which many lose after such a long time in the business.
Davey Carton sings in the chorus that he’s back on the rock and roll, and he isn’t lying. The drumming of Eimhin Craddock provides the band with the template to step a little outside of their comfort zone, and it works. He really lets go on this track, and it helps the song from being another downtrodden song about recession, to a song resembling a protest song, without actually being sure what the protest is about. The personal equivalent of leaving a student march early to go to the pub (something I’ve been guilty of in the past).
Sounding like 90’s Neil Young-lite, the song is a sure-fire radio-friendly hit which will ingrain itself into your consciousness in the days following your listening to it. I’m sure the lads will be eager now to have their celebratory tune about the new president in the spotlight, but this song is deserving of some of that fanfare too. The national treasures reborn once again, with a flair and energy about them which most band can only dream about having. The only mystery is why it took a year to be released as a single.
Listen to the single below
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