I first heard West of Eden as part of a compilation album of Celtic folk, and I was hooked. Being a Swedish group, I had some difficulty in accessing their work but I did manage to find an album and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A Stupid Thing to Do is their latest release, and it is an excellent collection of work, beautifully performed.

It is amazing to listen to natives of Sweden sounding as if they hail from Kerry, Clare or Connemara when they play folk music that captures an Irish spirit. It is all the more intriguing when we realize that all 13 tracks are originals.

Opening with "The Boy from Yesterday," the listener is hooked. "My Precious Cynic" is one of my favourite tracks, using some great lyrics to tell a story. The play of words on "Relationship" is top-class and gives us a beautiful tale of love. A hint of the use of words is in the line "sign on this relation ship."

My favourite track is "Flooded," a story of lost love given a wonderful dramatic setting and backing. I don't know how the Swedes express themselves, but the track titled "Bold as Brass" sounds extremely Irish.

That perennial of folk, "The Willow Tree," gets a lovely new song on this album. Although the singers penned it, it has an authentic feel that is enhanced by some lovely uilleann piping. The motif of the willow tree carries on into "Song."

This is a beautiful new collection of songs that is worth the effort to seek out.

- Rambles
written by Nicky Rossiter
published 19 February 2005

[ visit the artist's website ]