Album Review: Conchúr White, Swirling Violets

You could be forgiven for thinking Conchúr White hailed from the other side of the Atlantic. It’s not that the Armagh singer-songwriter adopts an American drawl, but his sonic palette has far more in common with the likes of Youth Lagoon, Bon Iver and even The National’s Dessner brothers than most of what has come from our own shores of late.

Sure there are folky influences, particularly on the quietly cascading guitars of the acoustic ‘Rivers’, or the delicious ‘501s’, which captures the heady rush of teenage romance in three-and-a-half minutes. But if anything, it’s Americana that forms the bedrock of his sound, rather than anything from our islands, albeit with a slightly skewed production that calls to mind the brilliant Dave Fridmann, particularly on tracks like ‘The Woman In The War’ and the yearning ‘Fawn’.

Opener and standout ‘The Holy Death’ is not unlike Mercury Rev or even a slightly more strident Bon Iver, White’s occasionally tremulous, multi-tracked vocals reflecting on mortality over a gently swirling melody. The falsetto, synths and soul of ‘Righteous (Why Did I Feel Like That?)’ sounds not unlike James Vincent McMorrow jamming with Youth Lagoon.

Elsewhere, the tender title track is all tinkering piano and breathless vocal; ‘Before Ten’ is two-and-a-half minutes of quietly catchy loveliness; and a semi-skittish rhythm fuels recent single ‘I Did Good Today’, a quietly arresting plea for validation.

A hugely impressive debut that gets better with each listen.

9/10