Brother, The Fight Is Fixed

New York-based Niall Connolly applies his passionate eloquence to social issues often by-passed by songwriters. ‘Jesus Is Coming (And I Can’t Pay The Rent)’ has a restless energy, and there’s a forthright blast at American hypocrisy in ‘America’. The electro-acoustic ‘Sum of Our Parts’ is a gem whilst there’s a naked sensitivity to ‘Skin and Bones’. On the other hand, ‘Away With the Birds’ is tiresomely maudlin. But most of the time, Connolly takes us beyond the clichés of introspective songsmithery.