Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Doctor Leaves




I’ll freely admit that I’m cynical when it comes to certain aspects of the Irish music scene but I’ve been singing the praises of a new release from an Irish band. The eponymous debut EP from Doctor Leaves was released on September 9th and has been on constant rotation since i got my hands on it. Doctor Leaves is the musical moniker of 2 musicians better know to their family and friends as Ben Shorten and Dara Munnis.


Both Ben and Dara play piano and guitar; Dara also plays the traditional flute and Ben plays the cello. They formed their first band together when they were in their mid-teens and eventually went their separate ways musically, but remained friends. During this time Dara played with other musicians such as the Coronas, Gavin Glass & the Holy Shakers and Jack L. Ben experimented with new bands. Eventually the pair reunited musically whilst living together and the EP is the result of this.




The 4 tracks on the EP are 'No Step Forward', 'When Darkness Turns to Light', 'Seven Year Itch' and 'Small Fish, Small Pond'. Piano and cello meld perfectly on 'No step forward' and overall the songs have an interesting mix of vocals,strings,guitar and piano. The 4 songs on the EP have whetted my appetite and I want to hear more music from these guys.

The band have stated that they are more concerned with people listening and enjoying the music than they are with making money from it. They have provided an option to download the whole record and the artwork completely free. However if you want to support decent music and independent musicians there are plenty of ways of paying for it too. There is the option to buy a CD which costs a mere €5. The EP is also available for purchase digitally through iTunes, Amazon, limewire and LaLa.






Band Photo: Niamh Farrell

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