Declan O’Rourke announces Vicar Street show to celebrate new album

Award-winning Irish singer-songwriter Declan O’Rourke is posed to celebrate his brand new album with a show at Vicar Street on March 13th, 2022.

O'Rourke’s latest album Arrivals was produced by Paul Weller, and is noted as being the most emotionally raw and affecting album of his career.

Recorded over six days at Black Barn studios in Surrey, with Weller producing, Arrivals sees Declan O’Rourke present his art in a different yet wholly distinctive manner.

Following its highly anticipated release last Friday, the work debuted at No.2 on the Official Irish Albums Chart this week.

The sound is stripped back to Declan’s soulful and resonant voice, the virtuosic acoustic guitar playing for which he’s renowned and sparse arrangement of strings and late-night drums bringing atmosphere and light to the LP’s 10 tracks.

As a fan of Declan’s songwriting for numerous years, Weller adds his multi-instrumental abilities to the recordings - including a captivating piano accompaniment to the closing track.

“Paul was there every moment, before, during and long after, discussing ideas about this and that, even down to the artwork. It was hugely impressive," Declan says of Weller's dedicated input.

Hot Press' Lucy O'Toole reviewed the project, declaring the album to be a "remarkably organic, flashy affair":

"With thoughtful handling from Paul Weller in the producer’s chair, Arrivals strips the Irish singer-songwriter’s acoustic-centred approach down to its rawest roots. His voice, more lived-in and resonant than ever, has become a profound vehicle for expressing life experiences of both major and minor significance. It’s not a sound accompanied by a modern sense of urgency or experimentation – but in its captivating exploration of human tenderness, it’s a direction that’s as relevant today as ever."

Read the Hot Press interview with Declan O'Rourke on his riveting new album in the new issue, out now.

Tickets for the March 13th gig are available from Ticketmaster this Friday at 10am.

Check out Declan's performance of 'The Harbour' on last week's The Late Late Show below:

Photo credit: Laurence Watson.