Noel Holmes

Working out of his home studio near Ovens in Co. Cork, Noel Holmes is a one-man music machine. He plays all the instruments here, including guitars, keyboards and drums as well as performing most of the vocals with some help from his pal Dan O’Regan. He also arranged, recorded, mixed and mastered all ten tracks, which feature a fairly bewildering range of styles and genres but in the main blends glam, metal, electro, pop and guitar indie, on heavily textured songs like the opener, ‘Darkness’. ELO and Eno are influences here too and the Bowie-esque ‘Teleport’ sounds like something from the latter’s Berlin period. Meanwhile, the Peter Gabriel-influenced title-track – think a slower ‘Sledgehammer’ and you’re nearly there – boasts some very impressive vocal and instrumental arrangements. It makes you wonder how on earth he would manage to put a recording this complex across in alive setting. Intriguing and enjoyable