What might save Donohoe from being swallowed up by the deluge of Irish singer-songwriters swamping the land are the tracks here where he veers away from mere acoustic introspection and adds electricity to zap up the excitement. Domiciled in Denmark for some time, the much-travelled Irishman has mustered a band of fine players for his debut.
Eschewing samples and drum-machines he still manages to create a sound that sets him apart from the herd. His voice sits somewhere between the ache of early Clapton, the husky presence of Rory Gallagher and the anguished bite of a Tom Robinson. He also merges his natural folk sensibility with tasty elements of blues, jazz and rock to keep the mood moving. His excellent finger-style acoustic guitar has echoes of Davy Graham, especially on the Paul Simon-ish ‘So Many Hearts’ and ‘You Never Know’ which barrel along quite gainfully.
‘Through The Smoke’ has an attractive ‘60s psychedelic r’n’b tinge to it, ‘Working My Way Back Home’ has a Lunnyesque rhythmic urgency and they turn up the heat for ‘The Magic Tune’. They give Blind Willie Johnson’s ‘Can’t Keep From Crying’ a decent outing, and the sultry ‘Don’t Stop Moving’ has a confident touch of jazz without disappearing into musodom.
What’s missing is the heart-stopping chorus, so while there’s no ‘Galileo’ here, Donohoe has opened his account with distinction. Of the 15 tracks, all bar one are under four minutes, proving that Donohoe knows how to check in, make his point and move on.