Review: Inn Echo, Winter’s End

Combine a guitar, a fiddle, a concertina, and a cello, and you have Inn Echo – a four-piece instrumental band that fuses modern elements of indie and jazz sounds with folk Celtic traditions. This band is a unique blend of cultural backgrounds taking a modern approach to traditional folk. Their latest EP Winter’s End delivers a diverse collection of sounds that takes the listener on a rich journey filled with imagery, history, and feeling.

The EP begins with ‘27/5,’ an instrumental that leads with a cool, sober tone that soon shifts into quicker, more exhilarating tempo commonly found at a cèilidh. From there, ‘The Wreck of the H.M.S. Phoenix’ conjures nautical imagery and pays homage to folk legends passed on through song.  Finally, ‘In the Nick of Time’ is perhaps the most daring, if not mischievous, piece, beginning with a jazzy groove that soon invites the listener into a warm landscape laid down by fiddle strings, then taking us into the high-spirited energy of an East Coast kitchen party.

While a modern approach to traditional folk may sound something of a paradox, Winter’s End pays homage to many of the rich traditions of Celtic folk music, while melding modern musical elements, treating the genre with an irreverent reverence. 

Winter’s End was released May 21, 2020.
Listen to it here.

In the Nick of Time · Inn Echo Winter's End℗