Cork songwriter Jack O’Rourke seems never to be too far away from a piano, so the image of the man as a lovelorn, wistful balladeer, carefully picking out minor chords, is one that’s difficult to avoid.
It's true that O'Rourke's debut album has its share of such sombre songs, but it also contains material that makes him much more difficult to pigeonhole. Lyrically, he's extremely nifty ("orange lights gleam magic against those wispy showers – and there you are, averting eyes", from Nostalgia, or "If masculinity is your currency, then why you feeling short of change?", from On the Downlow), while, musically, he's broader in range than you might think.
This is a seriously good album from a seriously good songwriter, and if there’s a level of rawness that occasionally holds him back, then what of it?
