Album Review: David Keenan, Just For Today

There’s a lot to be said for the kind of albums that take years of painstaking effort to create. But there should be equal fanfare for music that comes in a moment of inspired spontaneity. David Keenan was apparently on the bus, en route to a pre-booked studio session, when he noticed an opportunity upon realising it was Bandcamp Friday.

The story goes that Keenan’s latest album was recorded and released by four in the afternoon that same day. That context inevitably shapes the listening experience. Just For Today doubles as both collection and provocation, challenging the industry’s drawn-out cycles and carefully engineered rollouts. The lack of polish is a clear aesthetic choice, not a mere oversight.

 

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Keenan leaves the seams visible, favouring immediacy over refinement. On tracks like ‘Ragtrade Riches’ and ‘Mo Bhrionglóid’, the singer's croon emerges cracked and searching, but also soaring. ‘Backfields’ and ‘Money For Rope’ anchor the record with lyrical authority, boasting caustic quips and striking poetics.

Just For Today emerges as one of Keenan’s most compelling records to date, and a magnetic sequel to the recent Modern Mythologies. It offers a vivid reminder that, when instinct leads, the results can feel bracingly alive and quietly profound.

8/10