Since the release of Patrick Kelleher’s critically-adored first album You Look Cold, the 26-year-old Dubliner has achieved a modest level of success across the pond, being championed by the folk at BBC Radio 6 and featuring as The Guardian’s ‘New Band Of The Day’, with the notoriously catty Paul Lester deeming him “spookily brilliant”. He’s also gotten a haircut, but we won’t hold that against him.
Those who loved the lo-fi creak of his ghostly debut will be a little surprised with the follow-up, which sees him defibrillate his sound with danceworthy hooks. Opener ‘Miracle Candle’ introduces the album with a swirl of spiraling beats, almost as unexpected as the violent guitar shredding at its climax.
‘Seen Me Blue’ could be a forgotten ‘80s pseudo ballad, complete with rhapsodic vocal and sultry bassline, and the disco-rave delights continue on the grinding ‘Too Many Harsh Words’ and the eerily catchy ‘Contact Sports’.
Elsewhere, ‘Broken Up Now’ calls to mind David Kitt’s loveliest moments, while closer ‘Still In School’ is a brief retreat to Kelleher’s lo-fi roots. The Wicklow native’s deliciously flawed vocal remains the star of the show, even when it turns to spoken word on ‘I Don’t Remember’ and the head-spinning title track.
‘Strawberry Dog’ is composed almost entirely of animal noises, created from what I gather is some kind of child’s toy. First heard on his cover of Squarehead’s ‘Fake Blood’ on the Quarter Inch Collective Quompilation, Kelleher’s barnyard doohickey may sound like a twee novelty, but he manages to morph the farm-dwellers’ din into a full-on electronic stomper. Elsewhere on the record, he succeeds in getting a beat out of a number of real animals, including a hoot owl (hey, Timbaland did wonders with cooing babies...)
Kelleher always had the power to break hearts (his acoustic cover of The Ink Spots ‘Do I Worry?’ once gave me a golf ball-sized lump in my throat,) but with Golden Syrup you’re invited to bust a move while your heart is breaking. What makes this 10-tracker so remarkable is an unrelenting underlying groove, and whether Kelleher learned this trick from post-war crooners like Mel Tormé and Tony Bennett or ‘80s synth nerds like Gary Numan and Thomas Dolby, it fits his madcap sound perfectly.
Sensitive, perplexing and brimming with ideas – Golden Syrup is a truly gorgeous piece of pop craftwork.