Eugene Donegan - Sail Against The Wind

Eugene Donegan’s Declan O’Rourke-produced debut, Little Apples, garnered widespread acclaim four years ago. The long-awaited follow-up finds the ubiquitous O’Rourke once again assisting on both instrumental and vocal duties (he plays everything from double bass to ukulele). Donegan offers 11 new songs, which explore the “pain and redemption of love”, according to his sleeve notes.

He certainly gets to the heart of the matter on ‘Vultures’, which recalls Jackson Browne and Paul Brady and ‘Little Hearts’, an acoustic shuffle in a Luka Bloom vein. Elsewhere, ‘Rosie My Dear’ veers towards Tom Waits/Shane MacGowan and ‘Scars Will Fade’ is Dylan-esque in approach. The title-track is pure Gothic Americana – Ryan Adams meets Leonard Cohen – and features a duet with Navan singer-songwriter Joy Booth. John Creedon should give it a spin.