IT IS gratifying for a music fan to see a band they have liked from the beginning to progress accordingly, if not commercially.
Dublin band Soda Blonde have been treading the path from relative obscurity (four members began their music career in the much-admired Little Green Cars, 2008-2019) to increasing success.
With two studio albums under the collective belt (2021’s Small Talk, 2023’s Dream Big), Dream Big, Live with the National Symphony Orchestra (Self-Released) is an intelligent way to not only further the band’s cause but also to show another side of their artistic prowess.
With sweeps and swathes of strings augmenting excellent songs such as Why Die for Danzig, Less Than Nothing, My First Name, and the title track, the album is more than an exercise in creative sidestepping but rather a quality addition to the band’s strengths.
By this point, Soda Blonde have been around the proverbial block, whereas 22-year-old Galway-born Dove Ellis is a new-ish music act to many music fans.
Judging by the reception of his debut album, Blizzard (Black Butter/AMF), it won’t be long before he is a household name.
That said, we have here a but as big as a double-decker bus: Ellis is so influenced by Radiohead, Elliot Smith, and Jeff Buckley that what at first sounds deliriously good eventually comes across as retreads – finely polished, of course, and deftly executed, but too familiar, nonetheless.
Aisling UrwinNot to worry – in fairness, debut albums can be like that. Also, Ellis is barely out of his 20s, so we will await his third or fourth album and see what the story is.
Solo artist, composer for film and television, session musician, teacher – there’s little doubt that Aisling Urwin is a busy woman, and you can bet your bottom Euro that her second solo album, The Other Place (Moonboots Records), will add to her schedule.
A harpist from Ireland’s southwest, Urwin has said that the artistic path of the album began “in a wormhole, and by the end of the album, we’re down the end of the back garden.” She adds that alongside her harp, the collected legion of synthesiser, dulcimer, fiddle, mandolin, bodhran, flugelhorn, cello and bouzouki dragged the sound of the album from one end to the other.
You can tell that acute thought has gone into the making of the album, with filtered field recordings (streams, birdsong, storms) adding a truly organic sensibility throughout. But enough of me, ahem, harping on about it – wrap your ears around this one. You won’t be disappointed.
It’s a similar story with Wexford’s Rachel Grace, a 23-year-old singer whose debut album, Never Grows Old (Self-Released), is surely one of the most infectious you’ll hear this year.
The vibe throughout is rooted in the ‘70s, with nods to the piano-led, brass-driven soul/pop of Carole King (the likes of Quite Like You, The Secret, and Rough Patch are exceptionally smart dead ringers).
We could mention other influences, but we don’t want to land Grace in the middle of an algorithm - she deserves better, frankly.
Suffice to say that ballads such as Lately, Game for Two, and the title track, and belters such as Cry Me an Ocean, Home, and All or Nothing stand upright and proud as solid originals. You had best believe it, too - as the album title states, quality never grows old.
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