Certain

There is no doubting Chris Ahern’s skill as a songsmith. Listening to his debut solo album, however, one can’t help but wonder if the production does the tunes full justice.

Declan Synott has produced most of the top names in Irish AOR. A safe pair of hands he may be, but a less conservative approach than is in evidence here might well have done more to invigorate the songs. Still, tracks like ‘This Fool’, ‘Underground’ and ‘Carry Me With You’ establish Ahern as a writer whose work will surely be covered by any number of artists.

All of Ahern’s songs are of a personal nature, and evoke relationships in various states of disarray. I particularly like the lyric to ‘The Sound in the Shadows’ (“Elizabeth is waving through the distance/She’s almost gone/And everyone she knows she’ll leave behind her”), celebrating a character who might be Leonard Cohen’s Suzanne abandoning her place by the river for the perils of the open road.

As its title suggests, Certain is the work of one who has found his place in the scheme of things. The writing is economical, the arrangements assured, the singing pristine. A good record that might have been great.