Album review: In Full Colour, Declan O'Rourke

In Full Colour feels like it’s an album from a different age, in which people could smoke in pubs and clubs. You can easily see yourself walking into a classy bar in the ‘50s, dressed up to the nines and ready for an evening out with Declan O’Rourke.

‘Galileo’ was already a classic, but accompanied by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra you begin to wonder what Ol’ Blue Eyes would have done with the song. It’s one of those tunes that transports you to another world and brings up feelings of nostalgia, even if you can’t really understand why – a credit to the evocative quality of O’Rourke’s songwriting. The Orchestra forms the perfect backdrop for his musical creations. Indeed, the orchestration takes the songs to a whole new level notably on ‘We Didn’t Mean To Go To Sea’, ‘A Little Something’, ‘Whatever Else Happens’ and ‘Slieve Bloom’. These songs were always meant to be accompanied by a 50-piece orchestra.

‘Children of ‘16’ and ‘Her Silken Brown Hair’ form the political backbone of the album, with the latter boasting an enthralling ten-minute epilogue. With hidden track ‘Stardust’, O’Rourke concludes a hugely impressive fifth album. He is right up there with the best in Ireland.