Rory Faithfield is based in Dublin, but was born and raised in Sydney. Sonically, lyrically and vocally, his style is more quintessentially Irish than Australian. That is to say, he shows no traces of an Aussie accent, and his lyrics are littered with references to contemporary Éire.
Musically, he is very much in step with the Dublin singer-songwriter scene: this is earnest, straightforward acoustica, with heartfelt vocals and a small palette of instruments – often stripped down to just guitar and voice (but with occasional splashes of harmonica).
This is his third record; on the preceding two, he was tagged as a “power acoustic” artist, a reference to his flair for combining traditional singer-songwriter fare with a more rocking approach. Not so on Circle Dance, though. This is resolutely downbeat.
Not that it's devoid of pleasant moments and undeniably pretty tracks.
‘Song For Joe’ boasts one of the Circle Dance’s more confident melodies, and contains some lovely backing-vocal harmonies during its chorus. There is even a rare (but welcome) moment of cheeky wit, as it half-inches Irish traditional favourite ‘Molly Malone’.
‘Follow The River’ is another quietly gorgeous track, with Faithfield’s harmonica adding texture to his music. The song’s bleak, wintry melody even manages to evoke the notoriously miserable magnificence of San Francisco’s finest gloom merchants, the Red House Painters.
Elsewhere, Faithfield consistently seeks beauty in everyday matters. He doesn’t always succeed but it is undeniably a commendable endeavour.