Album Review: Escapade, ZACH BOONE

The second album from Mullingar songwriter Boone, Escapade is already picking up airplay at home and across the water, as well as eating up space on film soundtracks. It’s a generally worthy and more than worthwhile follow-up to his debut Somewhere Beyond, which spawned the much-acclaimed ‘Is It True’. ‘Louise Don’t Tease’ is already a hit with the fans, marrying Sparks-like quirkiness with ELO-style melodies, topped by Boone’s exuberant vocals. After an attention-grabbing a capella opening, ‘She Moves’ rattles along at a thrillingly frantic pace; think Hozier on speed and you’re halfway there. ‘Stay With Me Tonight’, meanwhile, mixes Irish rhythms with middle eastern tints to intriguing effect. Elsewhere, ‘Sir N Getty’ takes us to the Serengeti with evocative children’s voices, docudrama-style narration and heavily-percussive futuristic production. The album ends with ‘Trick Of The Mind’, which opens with a more acoustic feel, but later adds a Mica-style vocal and squawling guitars. Boone is a versatile artist who pays little attention to the official songwriter’s manual, and uses only the richest of ingredients in his inventive and nourishing musical stews. Fascinating. OUT NOW