False Lankum
Studio album by
Lankum
Released24 March 2023 (2023-03-24)
StudioHellfire, Dublin, Ireland[1]
GenreFolk
Length70:24
LabelRough Trade
Producer
  • John Murphy
  • Lankum
Lankum chronology
The Livelong Day
(2019)		 False Lankum
(2023)

False Lankum is the fourth studio album by Irish folk music group Lankum, released on 24 March 2023 through Rough Trade Records. It received positive reviews from critics and peaked at number two on the Irish Albums Chart. The album was shortlisted for the 2023 Mercury Prize[2] and appeared on several best-of lists for 2023 albums.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.3/10[3]
Metacritic89/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Clash8/10[6]
The Guardian[1]
The Irish Times[7]
Mojo[8]
Pitchfork7.7/10[9]
Record Collector[10]
Uncut[11]

False Lankum received a score of 89 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on eight critics' reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[4] AllMusic's Timothy Monger described the album as a "nihilistic, almost comically bleak trek into the dark heart of folk music" as well as "a difficult but defining statement made at the height of their powers".[5] Jude Rogers of The Guardian felt that it "teems with similar moments of iridescent bliss" and its tracks "also unfurl into each other without a break, alternately lulling the listener then casting them into storms of shuddering sounds".[1] Siobhán Long of The Irish Times wrote that Lankum have "chosen to balance the darkness with copious shafts of light and delicate beauty" and the album "positions Lankum in a space that's utterly their own: delighting in the myriad influences that colour their sound".[7]

Jim Wirth of Mojo opined that the album "offers hurricane-force drama at times" and "also tells a less grisly tale about growing up and realising that your swashbuckling days might be over. If modern folk music needs its own OK Computer, its own The Dark Side of the Moon, or indeed its own F♯A♯∞, this may well be it".[8] Rob Young of Uncut found False Lankum to be "some measure their most ambitious in terms of instrumentation, arrangements and the sheer creation of atmosphere" and stated that the band "have found a convincing way to keep the damn hulk going, stoking the engines of folk tradition and setting course to who knows when".[11] Shaun Curran of Record Collector characterized it as "definitely a demanding listen, but an extraordinary one".[10]

Clash's Craig Howieson wrote that the band "continue to mine some of the finest – and criminally overlooked – songs of folk music's past and tailor them to the zeitgeist", concluding that the album "will one day too become a historical artefact", but "one which will brighten the future of those who devote time to its unique majesty".[6] Ryan Leas, reviewing the album for Pitchfork, called it "spellbinding" and felt that the band "uncovers eerie new depths in centuries-old forms" on an album that "plays less like discrete songs and more as one long fever dream composed of scenes from across centuries".[9]

Accolades

False Lankum on year-end lists
Publication List Rank
Mojo[12] The 75 Best Albums of 2023
3
The Quietus[13] Quietus Albums Of The Year 2023
1
Uncut[14] The 75 Best Albums of 2023
1
The Guardian[15] The 50 Best Albums of 2023
1

Track listing

False Lankum track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Go Dig My Grave"8:38
2."Clear Away in the Morning"7:00
3."Fugue I"1:06
4."Master Crowley's"5:45
5."Newcastle"5:43
6."Fugue II"0:59
7."Netta Perseus"4:40
8."The New York Trader"7:40
9."Lord Abore and Mary Flynn"8:38
10."Fugue III"2:05
11."On a Monday Morning"5:12
12."The Turn"12:58
Total length:70:24

Charts

Chart performance for False Lankum
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[16] 83
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17] 40
Irish Albums (OCC)[18] 2
Scottish Albums (OCC)[19] 13
UK Albums (OCC)[20] 47
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[21] 4

References

  1. 1 2 3 Rogers, Jude (17 March 2023). "Lankum: False Lankum review – folk radicals get in touch with their softer side". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  2. ↑ Snapes, Laura (27 July 2023). "Mercury Prize 2023: Arctic Monkeys tie Radiohead's record for most nominations". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  3. ↑ "False Lankum by Lankum reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  4. 1 2 "False Lankum by Lankum Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  5. 1 2 Monger, Timothy. "Lankum – False Lankum Album Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  6. 1 2 Howieson, Craig (23 March 2023). "Lankum – False Lankum | Reviews". Clash. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  7. 1 2 Long, Siobhán (17 March 2023). "Lankum: False Lankum – Landmark collection with surprising light among the deathly intent". The Irish Times. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  8. 1 2 Wirth, Jim (22 March 2023). "Lankum Reviewed!". Mojo. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  9. 1 2 Leas, Ryan (24 March 2023). "Lankum: False Lankum Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  10. 1 2 Curran, Shaun (24 March 2023). "False Lankum | Lankum". Record Collector. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  11. 1 2 Young, Rob (7 April 2023). "Lankum – False Lankum". Uncut. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  12. ↑ "Mojo's Top 75 Albums of 2023". BrooklynVegan. 14 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  13. ↑ Clake, Patrick (4 December 2023). "Quietus Albums Of The Year 2023 (In Association With Norman Records)". Features | Quietus Charts. The Quietus. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  14. ↑ Sacher, Andrew (9 November 2023). "Uncut's Top 75 Albums of 2023". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  15. ↑ Snapes, Laura; Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (22 December 2023). "The 50 best albums of 2023 – 50 to 1". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  16. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Lankum – False Lankum" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  17. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Lankum – False Lankum" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  18. ↑ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  19. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  20. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  21. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
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