Cup O’Joe – “In The Parting”

Cup O’Joe comprises of brothers Benjamin and Reuben Agnew and sister Tabitha Benedict, all in their twenties, who have who have grown and honed their musical skills as they themselves have grown and matured from their early teenage years as a family band. 

“In The Parting” is the long awaited, first full-length album coming from a band that has been playing for some years around Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe. They have been featured radio and TV broadcasts, were finalists in the BBC Young Folk Awards and have showcased at IBMA.  

It is good to see, and to hear on this CD their special brand of music; rooted in bluegrass, influenced by their own Irish musical heritage and full of their own talent as musicians, songwriters and arrangers. Their guests are not there to fill empty spaces but augment and blend in well with the trio’s musical style.  

The first and title track “In The Parting” is a beautiful rendition of this traditional Irish song and the only track not written by the band. The sweetness of Tabitha’s vocals and the subtle support of the instruments moves into an up-tempo middle with solid performances as you would expect from musicians like Niall Murphy on fiddle and David Benedict on Mandolin. It then slows again before the “sibling” harmony vocals take it to an up tempo ending. 

You might not expect hear electric guitar in what is primarily an acoustic album, but in “Run Run“, guitarist Dave Molly balances perfectly with the mandolin and acoustic guitar in the shared solos. Josh Clark and Glenn Chambers add percussive but gentle drive to the song, and Irish folk singer-songwriter, Eilidh Patterson, adds her voice to create excellent harmonies on this very well crafted track. 

Catch a studio session of “Run Run” on https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cup+o%27joe+band

Self-penned instrumental “Pinley Green” from Reuben is described as a “hoedown” which starts of in that fashion, but quickly moves into contemporary bluegrass style with blue runs and licks, changes in tempo and variations on the melody between all the instruments.  

“Till I Met You” is a simple and attractive love song that brings all three voices together. It is one of the best tracks on the CD
Judge for yourself on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25UjmbX8lls

The trio alone, on their final two tracks “Worth It all” and “Can’t Sleep Without Caffeine” show off their vocal and instrumental abilities and demonstrate that they are a band that can, and does, stand and play, on its own merits. 

This is not an album from beginner’s … it comes from three young people who have worked and thought, long and hard, before committing their music to a full CD. There is nothing on this CD that is not to like. It has depth, maturity, variety and excellent musical balance and interpretation.

Buy online at www.cupojoemusic.com

Eugene O’Brien