Colm Lynch
New album: Tickety Boo

One thing is for certain, Colm Lynch & his eight piece band know how to perform- and on this album the singer songwriter is anxious to impress. Whether it is by singing his heart out or banging the hell out his guitar, he has set his goals on achieving something rather significant. But has he done it?
 
YES, and why, because he took his time, he learned his trade, he gigged and gigged and gigged and found out what people want out of a live performance and condensed it into an album. Three years after the release of his debut record, A Whisper in a Riot, Tickety Boo is telling of the singers personal progression and is an album that deserves not to be ignored, and one that simply demands your attention.
 
I actually do not think this man knows how to do things half ways, as he has a straight up- ‘what you see is what you get’ kind of persona. He is in it for the music and nothing else. This much is obvious in his live shows. You wont find Colm at the opening of every envelope, but given the chance to rock an event, he’ll be there with guitar in hand and with his enormous eight piece extravagantly brilliant roots band (banjo, fiddle, sax, lead guitar, harmonica, strings, drums… the list goes on…). All this in the mix, proves a cocktail for a great night out or a great listen on speakers. Lynch’s voice is all ‘throat and gravel’ and on this record he is definitely pushing every bit of himself to the limit. Sounding at times like he has sang through the night and indulged in a bottle of whiskey and about 80 ciggies….But it’s ok, cause for this man it just works. 
 
It would be very easy for me to draw easy stylistic comparisons with anyone from Springstein, Dylan and Steve Earl, but one must remember that this man is in his twenties and is Irish, not a child of the American rock-folk movement of the 60’s. It’s all there - the passion, the sound and the performance, but the songs themselves do take a few listens to nuzzle into the epicentre of what the man, the singer is trying to achieve, give it a few listens, it demands it. And when it all clicks in, trust me you will be checking the online tour dates.
 
His live shows are something to behold. Definitely more to come from this talented singer/songwriter.

Paulo Nutini
Album: Sunny Side Up
 
Ouch Nutini is on Fire- with his 1950’s retro feel good samba mamba hillbilly rock ‘n’ roll style album. Can someone give me a ‘Hell yeah’. The paisley boy is back with his follow up album – and it’s a classic case of ‘ I’ve done the pop thing, now lets do the real thing’. Where These Streets was a high polished and poppy affair, as opposed to Sunny Side Up, which in many ways is the exact opposite. But it’s allowed, after his million selling 2006 debut, Nutini obviously said to himself, “ok, lets dig deep here” and dig he did. Going, some may say, against the path laid out for him and rebelling a bit. Yet if Adele and Duffy are reaping the benefits from very lo-fi produced old style albums, yet maintaining that CLASSIC music sound - why can’t Nutini….the answer being well he CAN.
 
Let’s face it the young man in all his glory descending from a chip shop to a global stage; has now played Live Earth, supported Led Zeppelin and has sang with Mick Jagger, along with having a multi million selling album already on his belt. So why not produce his latest album himself….with the help of Kings Of Leon supreme maestro Ethan Johns. For what it’s worth I love this album, not so much his last but more so this one. I am a folky..
 
And….It’s a ‘folked up affair’- reminiscent of blues and roots music you may hear on the road side in New Orleans (rest it’s soul) meshed with gospel and old time story telling through the medium of heavily accented lyrics and unintelligible ramblings. Not that I care to decipher some of the lyrical content coz he just sings it so well.
 
If it’s his labels aim to crack the US, then giving him some creative control just may work…as he is certainly heading in the right musical direction, with first single Candy sounding like a Scottish Bruce Springsteen and my favourite Pencil full of lead sounding like he’s Duffys kid brother after been let loose in the town with Louis Armstrong.
 
There are some gems on the album, and its well worth the listen. Whatever you’ll expect, you will still be shocked, as this act has aged about six decades between albums