This might be his first album but the songs on this debut from Donegal man Sean Needham give the impression that they’ve been collected slowly over the years, as he honed his craft. Along the way Needham collected some interesting musicians for his band – including a Malaysian guitar player and Danish backing singer/percussionist, but the results are still unmistakably Irish.
More middle of the road than left of field (he’s even guested with Huey Lewis and the News – respect!), Loosely Based On A True Story has enough interesting songs to make you resist the urge to sigh ‘not another singer-friggin’-songwriter’.
Uptempo acoustic rock is the main flavour of the music. The most obvious reference point for his voice, meanwhile, is Damien Rice without the emotional overload, a sense that’s reinforced by the prominent female backing vocal on a number of tracks.
Lyrically there is a lot of spirituality to his songs especially on ‘Give Praise’ or ‘Mother Mary’ (“Love and kindness will lead you to the light”), but Needham is at his best when he sits down to tell a story. ‘Hey Juliet’, recounting the tale of a hopeful loser (“Lend me a hundred pounds/I’m going down to Leopardstown”) offers the catchiest chorus on the album, while ‘Paying for Your Loving’ sees him adopting a loungey jazz style to paint the picture of a strip club punter mistaking lust for love.
‘Province Without A Soul’ is a powerful treatment of the silliness of creeds and casts, guns and crosses, while another highlight is ‘Refugee’, confirming a knack for simple, direct lyrics and a song that could easily have been written by Damien Dempsey or Christy Moore.
All told, it’s an impressive debut.