Wexford-based singer-songwriter Paul O’Reilly blends folk, country and traditional styles in equal measure on this impressive self-produced debut. Though claiming influences from James Taylor, Neil Young and Bob Dylan among others, his main inspiration appears to lie much closer to home. Jimmy McCarthy is one clear influence on his songwriting approach – you could easily imagine Mary Black performing a song like ‘Be With You’ or the poignant title track. With its shuffling country rhythm, ‘Expressions’ is more than slightly reminiscent of Mick Hanley’s ‘Past The Point Of Rescue’ while the tin whistle accompaniment lends a song like ‘Run Now Run’ a strong traditional feel.
His lyrical subject matter is in the main introspective, dealing with life and relationships in all their complexities. But he’s not afraid to tackle serious issues such as a failing marriage (‘Leave The Key Behind’) or domestic violence (‘Bobby’s Tears’). He even broaches the thorny subject of current Middle-Eastern politics on ‘Arabs Tent’ – a song that sonically evokes the spirit of Moving Heart’s classic ‘Hiroshima Nagasaki (Russian Roulette)’.
While the production and acoustic accompaniment is stripped down with minimal studio gimmickry, the arrangements are sympathetically carried out. O’Reilly is an impressive guitar player too, as evidenced by the fret-work on ‘Ode To See’ which is very much in the style of Paul Brady’s ‘Arthur McBride’.
His voice might be an acquired taste and his songs can be a tad heavy going but O’Reilly shows plenty of promise here - all that is missing really are some killer hooks to make them truly memorable.