DUG – Have At It!: Album Review

By John Barlass on 3rd October 2025 • ( Leave a comment )

Debut album from Scottish-American duo DUG. Have At It! takes influences from the great American singer-songwriters and from Irish and Scottish tradition and blends them seamlessly into a thoroughly compelling whole.

Release Date: 19^th September 2025

Label: Claddagh Records

Formats: CD / Vinyl / Digital

DUG – MAKING WAVES…

DUG have been making a few waves lately, as you may be aware. The duo – Conor ‘Lorkin’ O’Reilly (lead vocals and guitars) and multi-instrumentalist Jonny Pickett – have been selling out venues in their adopted home of Ireland and, earlier this year, Jubilee – the lead single from this new album was shortlisted for two Grammy nominations. The pair came together in 2023, but listeners to Have At It! will be forgiven for assuming that they’d been writing and performing together from birth. Such is the tightness and mutual understanding inherent in the duo’s music.

Lorkin is a native of Edinburgh but spent many years in New York before he teamed up with Californian Jonny. The pair now call Ireland their home and their music can be described as ‘truly transatlantic,’ taking, as it does, influences from American folk – both traditional and contemporary – and the traditional music of Ireland and Scotland.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Speaking of the title chosen for their debut album, Lorkin says: “Have At It came from a text message my dad sent to our family WhatsApp group during COVID. At the time, there was that short phase when everyone thought COVID could spread through surfaces. My mum was really worried, so she decided to get a will written. She took a photo of it and shared it in the group chat. In response, my dad sent a picture of his will – a napkin with the words ‘Have At It!’ scribbled across the front.”

Have At It! is an interesting and enjoyable album. The root influences are served up in fairly equal proportions, with blues and gospel both making their presence felt alongside the Celtic and American folk influences. There are no dull moments and, whilst the music is refreshingly easy to listen to, there’s also a lot of depth – particularly to the lyrics, which include a surprising amount of humour amongst the – occasionally – dark subject matter.

LISTEN TO THE FUN THEY’RE HAVING!

Banjo is quickly joined by bowed strings as opening track, Cold Frost, develops from pensive beginnings into an enticing reel. The tune fades away as quickly as it arrives, leaving the listener curious for more. And, what’s next comes not from the peat bogs of Galway but from the swamps of Louisiana as DUG channel Ry Cooder for the bluesy, gospel-tinged title track. Lorkin’s slide guitar and Jonny’s banjo provide the drive, and the chorus and joyful whoops of the backing vocalists hint at the fun they’re having.

DUG stick with the blues/gospel trappings for the sublime Wheel of Fortune but, this time, Jonny supplements Lorkin’s slide guitar licks on fiddle – and the vocals are so very endearing. The pace picks up – just a little – for Katie, a joyful, bluesy stomper and, if you aren’t stamping or clapping along by this stage, I can guarantee that you’ll be rocking backwards and forwards at the very least to Jonny’s insistent fiddle and Lorkin’s fingerpicked guitar.

STRANGE GOINGS-ON…

The duo take the Irish folk tale, the Legend of Knockgrafton, and subject it to the patent DUG treatment for Live Long day, one of several singles to precede the album’s release. In its reworked form, the song has a driving, stomping rhythm but, keeping faith with the song’s origins, the fiddle retains its sinister edge and even the banjo sound hints at strange goings-on, somewhere not too far away…

The atmospheric Fields of Plenty is one of several album highlights. A song that laments working class drudgery and frustration, is given a traditional feel by the fiddles and banjo. The blended voices act as a drone that emphasizes the sentiment in the lyrics, particularly for the song’s payoff line: “It’s the winner takes all in the fields of plenty…”

RESPECTFUL INTERPRETATION

Lorkin’s delivery of the lyrics to Cumberland Gap are tuneful and precise and true to the original intent of this well-known song, whilst the handclaps, the drumbeat and the copious whoops create a raucous hoedown atmosphere. And we stick with tradition for a respectful interpretation of Katie Cruel, a song with Scottish origins that was, perhaps most famously, performed by Karen Dalton in the early 1960s. Lorkin’s voice is underpinned by a soft female harmony and his weepy slide guitar gives emphasis to the despair expressed in the song’s lyrics. And the resigned vocal tones of Katie Cruel are carried over into Big Sundown, another of those ‘taster’ singles, whilst the song is propelled along by a well-sprung rhythm and an incessant drumbeat.

DUG present their folky credentials with I Reside, a song with evocative and enigmatic lyrics and with their cover of the Ian Felice song, In Memoriam. The latter of these, in particular, combines much of the best of what DUG have on offer – wistful vocals, some excellent work from Lorkin on his resonator guitar and warm vocal harmonies.

WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE?

The thumping beat that drives Good Time People along, together with the tightly-meshed guitar and banjo, Jonny’s fiddle and the “…a-drinkin’ and a-druggin’” lyrics are sure to turn the song into a live show highlight – if it hasn’t already achieved that status. After all – what’s not to like? But the pace is slowed a little as the album heads towards its conclusion with the contemplative When the Days Cool Down. Guitar and banjo look after the American singer-songwriter elements of the song, whilst the Irish atmosphere is provided by the fiddle and – is it a whistle?

And, to close a remarkable album, DUG revert to their signature bluesy gospel sound, complete with banjo, resonator guitar and fiddle, for Jubilee – the song that gained DUG all that early attention. In the true DUG way, the song is gentle and enlivening at the same time, and it issues notice: Remember DUG – this won’t be last you’ll hear from us!

DUG – ON TOUR

And, indeed, if Have At It! has caught your fancy in the same way that it’s caught mine, you can catch DUG on tour as they set off around the UK and Ireland in November. The tour itinerary can be found here.

Watch the official video to Jubilee, the album’s Grammy shortlisted lead single, below: