Album Review: Michael Banahan, Broken Heart

Ex-member of Rig The Jig, Roscommon-based Michael Banahan can carefully craft and sing highly-personalised songs, which are not only snapshots of the human condition, but depict the broadly downbeat mood of the modern era.

So, the aptly-titled Broken Heart opens with ‘Winter In The City’ and suitable harmonica. It’s a timely, reflective song depicting the miseries of modern city life, with its mix of inclement weather, traffic, bad temper, homelessness and the absence of snowy landscapes. Not exactly your jolly Christmas ditty, though there’s a gleam of optimism amid the heartache.

The soul-baring and partly autobiographical ‘The Tango’ is a country-lite song about the uncertainties of romantic courtship, while ‘Hit The Road’ addresses the exploits of a serial charmer and the freedom his motorbike brings him. ‘The Busker’, meanwhile, is a graphic portrayal of a homeless Dublin singer, delivered in a style that recalls Mike Hanrahan.

Throughout the record, Banahan’s dark, melodic voice is bolstered by mighty musical and production support from the revered Bill Shanley. Together, they’ve created a work of conviction that doesn’t shirk the dark side. Yes, it’s a jungle out there to be sure – but let’s applaud Banahan for having the honesty to remind us that we could be so much better.

8/10

Michael Banahan's Broken Heart album launch, featuring Bill Shanley, takes play in Lis na Carrig, Foxrock, Co. Dublin on December 5. Tickets are available here.