Hello Bright Spark
Dundalk Troubadour's heartbreak hotel.
Colm O Hare, 11 Oct 2011
Stewart Agnew has been quietly making waves over the last few years with his finely-crafted, highly introspective vignettes. Produced by Roger Bechirian (Bell X1 etc.) these ten new songs reveal a growing maturity. Stylistically, it’s in the vein of classic Americana types, with hints of Ryan Adams, Ray Lamontagne and the Pernice Brothers in the mix.
Much of the album centres around a broken relationship. The title track – a heart-wrenching tale of heartache and woe – is typical. With a voice that does little to betray his obvious despair, he pleads: “I’ve missed you ever since the day you left.”
He continues this melancholy pattern on the even more downbeat ‘Disconnected’: “All this pain and this doubt it’s bringing me down,” he confesses, while on ‘All Over Now ‘(which takes its melodic cue from classics such as The Band’s ‘The Weight’ and Jackson Brown’s ‘These Days’) he croons, “When your heart breaks, so does mine.”
Some light relief is provided on the more up-tempo numbers, including the jangly current single, ‘Look How The Stars Turn On’, and the jaunty pop shuffle of ‘Candy Floss’, which has a Mumford & Sons feel to it. A real highlight here is the album opener, ‘Hanging On By My Laces’ which displays some impressive power-pop smarts and an arrangement that would impress Brian Wilson, while elsewhere ‘Draw The Line’ recalls John Martyn at his finest.
All told, it’s a highly impressive reccord.
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