Dunno about you, but I’m less than thrilled when I go to a gig and I can hear the clinking of ice in my glass over the actual music. Granted, in these current musical climes, it’s a largely inescapable situation, but with Steafan Hanvey, we are in quiet territory, yet fortunately the terrain is worth weathering, even for those who prefer to sidestep Irish acoustica.
Like Ash and Relish, Steafan Hanvey originates from Downpatrick (by way of Seattle and Finland), though it’s more feasible to equate him stylistically with fellow northerner Brian Kennedy. By his own admission, he took his time in crafting this album to get it right, and it seems that Honeymoon Junkies was worth the labour. The songs are full-bodied and accessible, yet somehow free of affected, overwrought tendencies. Hanvey’s trump card is his bias towards the modest and prosaic, and he seems perfectly happy to let his charming, uncluttered voice, with its hint of a Northern accent, be the driving force of his songs. While the soft-rock/AOR ‘Rooms’ refuses to commit itself to any specific genre or demographic, ‘Dublin Sky’ is a simple yet delightful bossa-nova number.