Connor Armbruster excels at reinvention. The multi-instrumentalist based in Troy, New York, has released numerous albums over the past several years that tackle a wealth of styles and themes. Phonehenge (2019) was a folk concept album about technology. Masses (2022) consisted of a solo violin recorded in the sanctuary of an empty church. Can I Sit Here (2024) tackled distortion and noise rock. He even released an EP last year, Bednight Snack, consisting entirely of traditional songs he regularly sang to his daughter. Now, with Half My House, Armbruster tackles traditional Irish music, a somewhat more conventional release, but still imbued with the grace and skill he’s known for.
Joining Armbruster (who sings, plays violin, guitar, and his usual fiddle) are Evan Marre on bouzouki and bass, Josh Marre on guitars, and Matt Griffin on mandolin and guitar. If those names sound familiar to his fans, they should. The four assembled musicians make up the experimental indie band Blue Ranger. While Half My House doesn’t sound much like anything Blue Ranger have done as a group, the longstanding chemistry between this foursome is evident from the very beginning. They are a quartet that click from the very first note.
The traditional Irish music he plays here was heavily influenced by his musical upbringing, and recorded at the historic Elizabeth Murray farmhouse in Granville, New York, where the assembled musicians met “for one snowy week, playing together and taking field recordings”, according to his Bandcamp. Stringed instruments were brought in, and Armbruster used the house’s old upright piano.
While the opening track, “The Eagle’s Whistle”, seems like an upbeat, conventional Irish tune, Armbruster’s charming idiosyncrasies soon appear on the second song, “King Under the River”, which combines off-kilter ambient soundscapes with traditional instrumentation. Then it’s back to tradition: the sedate, minor-key thrum of “Caislean Na Nor” follows, and then ushers in the haunting drone of “The Wounded Hussar”, which makes superb use of the aforementioned upright piano.
This sort of zig-zagging of moods across Half My House might be maddening (or at the very least, a momentum killer) in less capable hands. However, Armbruster expertly eases the musicians through these different vibes, creating a record that is less a scatterbrained hodgepodge and more a multi-course meal of many flavors, anchored by the tunes’ Irish origins.
Other highlights include the raucous stomper “The Jolly Tinker”, the achingly beautiful fiddle showcase “Within a Mile of Dublin / The Ten Pound Float”, and the emotionally fraught groan of “The Snow Hole”. Half My House closes curiously with Armbruster’s vocals on “Uncle Rat”, which sounds like a sort of haunted lullaby, accompanied by what sounds like a lonely glockenspiel – something Tom Waits might’ve included on Swordfishtrombones.
One of Connor Armbruster’s many talents is to surprise listeners with new projects that seemingly come out of left field. He’s not only a brilliant musician, but a refreshingly restless one. Half My House not only works as a unique and tuneful spin on traditional Irish music, but it’s also a vital entry in Armbruster’s discography – not to mention something good to tide over Blue Ranger fans.