The brainchild of Limerick Live 95’s Alan Jacques, this appropriately-titled compilation is in aid of Pieta House, the suicide and self-harm crisis centre. It gathers the cream of the current crop of Irish talent, who offer up no less than 18 exclusive tracks, for what is undoubtedly one of the worthiest causes of the moment.
There is a lot to take in here and plenty to savour and while it’s no cop-out to say that there isn’t a weak track among them, the album also serves as a handy primer for what is happening in Indie Land, in 2012. Some of the gems that stand out on a first spin include Windings’ poignant, ‘The Space I Occupy’, The Coronas’ rocking ‘Tone In Your Touch’ and Delorentos’ blistering ‘Solo’. Others worth hearing include The Flaws’ jaunty ‘Part Of You’, Deaf Joe’s psychedelic ‘You Never’ and Wallis Bird’s inimitably quirky ‘Elephant Skeleton’.
There are equally compelling cuts from the likes of The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra (‘First Dance’) Eleventy Four (‘The Friend Song’) and We Town Criers (‘Wake Up’)
Elsewhere, Joe Chester’s acoustic version of ‘Something Is Better (Than Nothing At All)’ contains some of the loveliest vocal harmonies you’ll hear this year, while Ross Breen’s title track blends Dylan’s lyricism with the energy of The Waterboys. The standout track and absolute highlight for this scribe, however, is We Cut Corners’ haunting and ethereal ‘Hopeless/Hopeless’ a monumentally melancholic tune, that sadly, probably comes closest to reflecting the lives of those left scarred by the effects of suicide.