Album Review: Imperfect Pop, DAVID CLUNE

Twenty-something Wicklow troubadour David Clune has previous, releasing the album Shine under the guise of Dahí Jim in 2014 – a worthy effort rewarded with a positive review in these pages. With the artist subsequently reverting to his real name, this new 12-track offering of self-penned songs followed a post-Shine 32-gig “tour of London” and was recorded in a small Polish city. The thankfully unpolished Polish production leaves Clune’s punky vocal attitude appropriately in the raw, for a bunch of songs that tackle real issues head-on. It comes with sparse, mainly acoustic guitar backing, which alternates between beguiling subtlety and ferocious energy. ‘Not Dead Yet’ survives Clune’s wayward vocal style, in a heartfelt song about leaving home, and there’s some optimistic brass to warm the cockles. ‘Dads In Their Houses’ has a Buddy Holly-style simplicity, overlaid with a drizzle of Lloyd Cole, while ‘Florence Road’ could be the first song inspired by the street of that name in Clune’s native Bray. It has neat double-tracked guitar too. His voice is at its most potent on ‘Wayward Lad’, a paean to loneliness that namechecks the suburb of Cherrywood, Bruce Springsteen and the Luas. ‘Long Way From Home’, meanwhile, gets close to knees-up mode in tales about Dublin eccentrics, while ‘Beans In Your Pocket’ is a short, heartbreakingly forlorn mid-life re-assessment. It’s starkly delivered and unaccompanied for extra punch. Elsewhere, ‘12’ is a folksy song of departure and taking stock; it’s got fetching harmonies too. This is an album that kicks against the pricks, with Clune’s voice and lyrics brimful of honesty. It takes courage to be this open. W e could do with more artists willing to engage with the rubbish of modern life, and fewer in thrall to escapist romantic fantasies. OUT NOW

Rating: 7/10