Irish Soul

Belfast’s Stephen Maguire has wrought a fine collection of songs that sensitively blend pop, soul and ‘60s rock. But apart from the odd lyric and his vocal inflections, there’s little here that feels overtly Irish. The title track is propelled by a percussive groove. Maguire’s boyband experience (his former group Unity supported Westlife) shines through the very Elton John-ish ‘Best I Can’ whilst ‘Leaving’ has an infectious Stonesy raunch. ‘Streets of Belfast’ owes a big debt to Van, but overall The Man’s influence is less in evidence than Maguire might have wished.
KEY TRACK: ‘IRISH SOUL’