The melancholic appeal of a talented troubadour

AS a measure of credibility appearing alongside legendary names such as the Blind Boys of Alabama, Eddi Reader and Steve Earle in addition to being featured in the Wall Street Journal and Hot Press would certainly rank pretty high up on the list of aspirations for any self-respecting singer-songwriter.

If you add in an overall category win in a prestigious worldwide songwriting competition that attracted 20,000 entries then you’re talking a seriously talented artist.

Well that’s exactly the measure of this week’s featured artist, Wexford singer-songwriter, Gordon Barry, who has just released a new EP, titled ‘All The Live Long Year’.

The release follows on from his fantastic debut album, ‘ The Best Way to Kill A Monster’ and the monster track, ‘Devil & St Jesus’ which brought Barry immeasurable acclaim.

The EP begins with ‘Old Fashioned Morphine’ and the listener is instantly transported to a sleepy, sparsely populated, smoke-filled back street French jazz club.

There is a slow, brooding, menacing vibe to the track from the off and it’s the type of song that wouldn’t be out of place on the soundtrack to an art-house film, mind you, it would also provide perfect accompaniment to one of the slowed down action scenes on a Deadpool film.

An almost military styled drum roll introduces the musical accompaniment.

The song is set to a slow beat and immediately creates a melancholic vibe.

What is slightly unusual is that Barry goes straight into the chorus at the beginning of the song.

It’s an interesting approach and creates an immediate impact.

Lyrically, the song is an ironic plaudit to the drug that the Victorians embraced wholeheartedly with the invention of the hypodermic needle in the 1840s.

Barry’s style, at least on this particular track, is somewhat similar to Chris Isaak but there is a slight vaudeville and burlesque vibe created by the track that is absolutely brilliant.

Musically, the song benefits from a lovely loose feel.

The relaxed bass lines could easily be played on an upright bass while the effect laden electric guitars are intrinsic to creating the overall vibe of the song.

The backing vocals on the chorus are brilliant and the way the initial chorus just has the lead vocals in confinement means there is greater impact when the harmony vocals are introduced on each chorus thereafter.

The pre-chorus backing vocals are also very well executed.

The jazz influenced vibe is carried on with the next track, ‘My Name Is Never’.

However, there is also a distinct country blues feel to the song that takes things in a slightly different direction to the preceding track.

That said, the melancholic mood of the opening track is enhanced on this song.

There is a lovely piano break around midway through and that’s followed by some exquisite slide guitar.

The crisp production on the EP makes the listening experience all that more enjoyable and each instrument sits perfectly in the mix.

‘Ghost of a River’ is arguably the most commercial song on the EP, based purely on the measure of its instant appeal.

It has a melody that immediately grabs the listener’s attention and doesn’t let go.

The introduction of a simple, but extremely effective banjo riff gives the song a fantastic backwoods country feel.

However, that’s offset in exemplary fashion by a strings refrain.

This really is a fantastic song that you will be humming long after it’s ended.

The final track on the EP is ‘Roll With the Punches’ and it brings things to a close in somewhat downbeat fashion.

In some ways it sums up everything that has gone before it.

It’s a melancholic track that lyrically appears very introspective on the part of the writer.

‘Sometimes the hard things are easy to leave, just roll with them, roll with the punches’, sings Barry and his words perhaps have added significance in a world that appears hell bent on self-destruction.

The musical accompaniment on each of the four songs is perfect, however, on this particular track every nuance of the vocal melody and the message of the lyrics are enhanced in exemplary fashion by the music.

The thing about EPs is that because of their short time frame the material has to be good to grab the attention of the listener.

For Gordon Barry there is nothing to worry about in that regard because he is a quality songwriter whose career to date has earned him praise from some highly respected figures in the music industry.

This EP just serves to enhance his growing reputation.