Album review: Morality Mortality, Marc O'Reilly

Marc O’Reilly is an incredibly gifted guitar player and songwriter, playing with an impressive ease and confidence. Indeed, Morality Mortality is the perfect balance between acoustic folk and the blues. Opener ‘Compromise’ begins with O’Reilly’s trademark guitar playing, treating his instrument as a rhythm box with strings and setting out the tone for the album. Some of the songs – check ‘Of Nothing’ – have a very familiar feel and even – dare I say it – catchy melodies. O’Reilly’s drifts smoothly between genres, from the velvety tones of ‘Steal Love’ - where he showcases his fingerpicking skills - to the classic blues rock of ‘Blinded By’.

The two genres blend together nicely in the epic ‘Simian Times’. O’Reilly’s voice feels like the glue that keeps the song together, as he experiments with sound effects to give it an ambient vibe. But O’Reilly is a craftsman: he knows how to create an album that intrigues the listener, challenging you to expect more and more of each song as the album progresses.

The sentiments he can’t express with words become carefully constructed guitar solos in ‘Cochain’ and ‘Three & One’. With closing song ‘Secret’, he proves again that the fingerpicking blues man only needs an acoustic guitar to convince you of his songwriting abilities.

With Morality Mortality, Marc O’Reilly will surprise and charm you in equal measure.