Back Smiling Again

This, fact fans, is Kieran Halpin’s 14th album. That he has been so prolific without any major label support, and a spell in the contractual wasteland, is a credit to his commitment as a wandering troubadour and the solidity of his audience.

For this album he is joined by Fairport Conventioneer Martin Allcock on bass and electric guitar, and the ensemble playing is predictably musicianly if unadventurous

throughout.

His subject matter here ranges over many topics, including good, bad and ugly relationships, and our personal indifference to a catalogue of tragedies from Omagh to Auschwitz in ‘Where Were You?’ The excellent ‘Back Smiling Again’ celebrates the noble art of keepin’ on keepin’ on in the face of adversity and experience, and the sturdy ‘Bittersweet’ has echoes of Dire Straits.

On tracks like the lethargic ‘Making Up The Miles’ his well-gargled voice steers close to Finbar Furey. But on ‘It’s All For Love’ he shows how attractively expresive his voice can be when he eases off the throttle. It’s a fine song too, as are ‘Border Town’ and ‘The Perfect Time’.

Having chastised him before for being mired in the past, I must confess that this effort has a more contemporary brightness shining through much of it. It may not win him too many new fans, but it should keep the diehards happy/sad.