It’s been quite a while since I heard a new song about a dog. Imagine my delight, then, to find that Rory Faithfield’s Songs For Sooner is a full LP dedicated to man’s best friend. The character by the name of Sooner in the title is an injured Australian sheep dog Rory Faithfield rescued from an abusive farmer when he was 13. Yep, he’s that guy – singer-songwriter with a heart of gold who finds joy in every living thing, loves walking in the rain and probably enjoys filing his fecking taxes.
Cynics beware, there’s something unashamedly positive about this Sydney-born Dublin-based musician. Inspired by Irish folk and trad and doffing the cap to Luka Bloom and Glen Hansard, these tunes float modestly around earthy vocals and straight-up storytelling.
A few detours from the folk rule book sneak in hither and tither but Songs For Sooner offers little in the way of a departure from Springfield’s previous three studio albums. The banjo-fied ‘Something Real’ is the closest we come to a hook and as thoughtful as the Prodigal’s lyrics are, there’s nothing especially challenging here. Moments like ‘Into The World’s hopping handclap refrain and the Dylan-esque harmonica on ‘A Little Light’ all make for thoroughly familiar listening.
A little creative research tells me that soaring aria ‘Clonard’ came to pass because Christy Moore sang it in a pub in one of Faithfield’s dreams. And whaddya know, bulk it up with a few Oirish pipes and some cinematic strings, and it’s exactly the song you’re imagining.
Much like Christy’s oneirological jamming session, Songs For Sooner will sound perfectly lovely billowing out from the dark corners of some intimate music venue. It may be the best setting in which to enjoy Rory Faithfield’s brand of positive vibrations.