''Something Ilk'' is the debut album of Irish songstress Cathy Davey. It was released in 2004. The release date for Ireland was 20 August 2004, whilst the release date for the United Kingdom was 23 August 2004. The album received a largely positive reaction in the Irish media. Davey later expressed her unhappiness with the album and the pressures which the record company had placed upon her.

Background and recording

After four performances in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, Davey went to the countryside and commenced writing the songs which would later feature on her debut album. Davey and her band recorded ''Something Ilk'' at a studio in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. The studio was named Rockfield Studio. Much of the recording was done during a heat wave which occurred in the summer of 2003. They remained at the studio in Wales for a period of approximately seven weeks. The recording process included sitting down in circles to make sounds and swinging doors open and shut again to create sounds. ''Something Ilk'' was produced by Ben Hillier who had previously worked with Blur and

Elbow The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the m ...

. ''Something Ilk'' was then released in 2004.

Reception

Public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann's reviewer Harry Guerin said ''Something Ilk'' was "high on presence and very low on filler" and gave it three out of five stars. ''

Hot Press ''Hot Press'' is a fortnightly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. History ''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who co ...

'' remarked, "Not only is her voice elfin, immediate and distinct the songs are also hugely compelling. They are digestible without being lightweight, austere in places without seeming detached". The ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet n ...

''s Paul Byrne described ''Something Ilk'' as "one of the best Irish albums of 2004". The BBC's reviewer Sarah Cohen gave ''Something Ilk'' four out of five circles. BBC Manchester was less pleased and left negative comments which compared the sound of the album to

Cerys Matthews Cerys Matthews (; born 11 April 1969) is a Welsh singer, songwriter, author, and broadcaster. She was a founding member of Welsh rock band Catatonia and a leading figure in the " Cool Cymru" movement of the late 1990s. Matthews programmes an ...

and Polly Jean Harvey.

Davey's reaction

Cathy Davey later expressed her unhappiness with ''Something Ilk'', saying dismissively, "I think the record company MI's Regal Recordingsthought I was an indie rock chick when they signed me and that album is very much other people's idea of what I should sound like. ..I didn't have the confidence to say no to some of the things en Hilliersuggested". Davey claimed not to "know my arse from my elbow when I signed for them" and "despised" performing those songs in a live arena. Despite this, the ''Irish Independent'' described her as "very talented—far more so than emmaHayes" but regretted that she had "failed to find an audience for her fine debut ''Something Ilk''".

Track listing

Source

References

External links

at Irish Music Central {{Authority control 2004 debut albums Cathy Davey albums albums produced by Ben Hillier