You would be hard-pressed to locate a more enduring presence in Irish pop/rock music than Eileen Goga n. The Dublin-based songwriter and singer has toiled in various groups over the past 25 years – from the Would Be’s and The Revenants to The Drays and the (recently regrouped) Microdisney, but her solo work has too often taken a back seat.
Under Moving Skies, the follow-up to her 2015 debut (The Spirit of Oberlin), is more of the same quality we have come to expect, albeit with less caution and more confidence.
There is a steeliness to Gogan’s writing here (one track, the fully instrumental Friday Tune, is written by The Undertones’ Damien O’Neill) that develops the creative remit across a range of material. Gone for the most part are the chiming alt. Americana stylings that could be viewed as her signature songwriting motifs.
In their place is a bolder but no less melodic stance – Don't Let Me Sleep is a sylph-like soul song with a stinger of a guitar solo (by O'Neill), while Sweet Alice is a beautiful spooky tune featuring Cathal Coughlan on backing vocals.
The album closes on a sleek ambient touch, with Gogan tracing a traditional Irish melody over Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill's poem Celebration. It is a fitting end to a typically thoughtful piece of work from one of Ireland's most underrated artists. eileengogan.com
