Niall Connolly - AsTomorrow Creeps From TheEast

Fri 17th Mar, 2006 in Music Reviews

I had the good fortune do a bit of travel a couple of years and one of the places that I really enjoyed was Ireland. I particularly liked Cork (where Rory Gallagher grew up). It has some great bars and venues (there’s one called Fred Zeppelin’s) and lots of interesting and good local acts. One of the locals that impressed me was Niall Connolly. I saw him playing with a number of other Cork performers at a pub in Mallow, a town not far from Cork city. He impressed with his heartfelt songs of life and his very sweet voice. The performance has stayed with me ever since.

A little while ago, I went trawling through overseas independent CD sellers on the ‘net, and stumbled upon a release of his – “As Tomorrow Creeps from the East”. I bought it. And what a lovely CD it is! It’s a semi-acoustic delight with some beautifully reflective songs. I suppose it belongs in a sort of folksy pigeon hole, but as many people know this is a genre where singers can overdo it and turn it all into mush. Not so Niall Connolly. His songs and his performance stand up with dignity. Soft it may be, but it still has meat on it. Not only that, but Niall obviously draws on traditional Irish music to give the album a very genuine feel.

The album opens with “What Are You Thinking?” a song which is simply about friendship. It has a mature, grown-up feel. Excellent two part harmonies in the chorus. An impressive opening and I remember it from the live set. “Blue Chases White” is strangely evocative of Paul Kelly’s “Randwick Bells” with its early morning streetscape. It picks up the tempo after a while – a bit like how the action picks up once the sun is properly up. I like this track in that I can visualise the blue winter skies and the clouds sweeping past the cathedral.

“Oil on Water” also starts with wonderful urban images. This guy is very efficient in his descriptions. Like another great Irish songsmith, Van Morrison, Niall doesn’t waste words. He has that rare ability to throw just a handful of words at you and you get the picture. As a writer, I admire that. I hate verbosity. Pick of the album so far. “Let the Tigers come with Claws” is a one and half minute gem of a love song. There’s even room for the band to show off, especially the brooding cello. Sublime is a much overused word these days. In this case it’s barely apt.

“I Will Come and See You Soon” is more upbeat. The title sums it up nicely and again, Niall tosses us more urban images. The city might suck, but you can get out for a while. “First Names Only” is a bit more dark and mysterious. We’ve all been here before – been burnt and reluctant to jump in again. At a little over six minutes, it’s the longest track on the album. It’s quite slow and deliberate and Niall’s vocal control is very good. “A Shell in the City” is hauntingly beautiful with its minimal instrumentation – just guitar and a lilting accordion. Lyrically I found this evocative of Andrew Eldritch of the Sisters of Mercy.

Waking to the mess of empty bottles after a hard night’s boozing starts off “The Long Weekend” – a great song about hanging out with a mate that you haven’t seen for a while. “When the Sun is on your Back” is another simple acoustic track. Niall’s guitar is really good here – his picking is very solid. In lesser hands this would be a bit of wimp. “Last Page of Winter” has a full band backing and finds Niall in full voice. In my desperate attempts to find something to compare this album to, I find a bit of Crowded House about this, but I know that’s a bit unfair. This is has a much better structure and quite a lot more sincerity about it, too. The album closes with “Grape or Grain”, a clever little tune about serendipitously coming to a realisation about someone and saying what you really mean – in vino veritas. There is truth in wine. OK, he’s Irish. If he gets to play here, I’ll be the first to by him a drink.

To sum up, it’s really interesting and beautiful record. It’s very hard to pigeonhole and that’s one of the nice things about it. In other words, it’s very original. So, if you like early Ben Lee, if you like the way that Neil Young wore his heart on his sleeve, if you tried to get into Crowded House but couldn’t because it was too weak and sickly sweet, then Niall Connolly might just be for you. One of the best albums of its type I’ve heart in quite a while. The album’s available independently. Check out http://www.niallconnolly.com for where to get it.