Mag Pie Zai
Rimecoat Records ***
Put an unassuming singer- songwriter in a room with a major label AR type and you know it’s going to end in tears. Declan O’Rourke’s major label misadventure led to a bout of writer’s block, but he’s back with a set of songs that shows he hasn’t lost the common touch. O’Rourke’s warm, ragged baritone wraps around you like a familiar old blanket, and the sparse arrangements give the album a light touch.
Singers looking for O'Rourke songs to cover could do worse than
A Little Something, which is redolent of
Solitaire, or the gorgeous
Time Machine, a little bit of nostalgia in a bottle.
Lightning Bird Wind River Manleans too heavily on the whimsy, but
Langley's Requiemis a gripping tale and
The Hardest Fighta defeated but defiant finale.
See declan orourke.com
Download tracks: A Little Something, Time Machine, The Hardest Fight
