MO LÉAN by RÓIS

When Christianity colonized Ireland, the pagan culture it replaced slowly lost its deep, meaningful relationship with death, sending the country down the one-way path of stoic misery that characterizes modern Western mourning. Experimental folk group RÓIS restores a key aspect of this forgotten culture on MO LÉAN, a progressive, electronically-assisted recreation of ancient ritualistic funeral songs. Dark, minimalist backing tracks lightly augment pristine, wailing vocals, traditionally sung by a woman at the side of a coffin in a practice known as keening. A slight tendency towards glitchy electronica undeniably lifts the album out of its historical context, emphasizing RÓIS as a project for cultural revitalization, not just mere preservation, but these changes undeniably play into this album’s power as a natural, empathetic companion to grief. For those to whom sitting politely and sniffling quietly in pews feels unnatural, the pure, euphoric catharsis found here provides a window into a culture where human emotions were invited a seat at the table rather than shunned away.