Album Review: Daithi - L.O.S.S

A firm favourite on the Irish festival circuit, Daithí’s 2019 was already looking bright – with stand-out sets at Love Sensation, All Together Now and Forbidden Fruit. The autumnal arrival of his long-awaited follow-up to 2014’s In Flight, however, marks the most unexpectedly thrilling chapter yet in the Clare producer’s career, as he moves beyond from his image as a fiddle-wielding wunderkind to a rounded and complexly layered artist.

From the ambient opener ‘Take The Wheel’, featuring Bell X1’s Paul Noonan, Daithí immediately establishes L.O.S.S as a compelling alternative to the escapist electro-pop that’s earned him his formidable live reputation. Steeped in poignant reflections on life, loss and faith, the track introduces a sense of all-pervading, though not altogether hopeless, melancholy – creeping into even the album’s more high-energy moments.

Daithí isn’t totally ripping up the rulebook, however. His sounds continues to feed off the raw landscape of rural Ireland just as much as the pulsing heart of its urban club culture. From Ailbhe Reddy to Tandem Felix, he also maintains his crown as the king of collaboration – stressing the importance of community and alliance, even in the darkest of times. Still, these guest appearances don’t distract from L.O.S.S.’s overarching narrative, in which Daithí maintains a central role.

With a sensitive ear for pace and intricate layering, Daithí has carved out a compelling new path in Irish electronica.

8/10