O Seasons O Castles

KATELL KEINEG: “O Seasons O Castles” (Elektra)

It is empirically undeniable that Katell Keineg harbours a mercurial, almost mystical voice that is as enchanting as the chateaux of which she sings on the title track of this, her debut album.

However, to fully appreciate its power you should really hear her sing live, especially when she performs acoustically, as this places it in a pivotal role, centre stage. Anyone who saw her stride across the tables at Whelan’s to perform an improvised duet of ‘Paris’ – one of the strongest songs on the album – with Jeff Buckley at his positively life-affirming concert here recently will know that when she shines, she really shines.

The challenge for Katell is to capture the essence of that magic on record. Co-produced by the woman herself and Fred Maher (who has done excellent work in the past with Lou Reed, Lloyd Cole, Luna and Matthew Sweet amongst others), O Seasons O Castles contains moments when this is spectacularly achieved, as on ‘O Seasons’ – an irresistable burst of Celtic soul – and the Welsh traditional hymn, ‘O Iesu Mawr’(which is reminiscent of those other torch singers which this country has taken to its bosom, Dead Can Dance).

My nominee for show-stealer is the closing track ‘The Gulf Of Araby’ which, if I’ve understood it correctly, is one of a very few songs written about the conflict in Northern Ireland that actually possesses a core of powerful emotional truth.

The bare, stripped-down approach to the production on these particular tracks is crucial, enhancing rather than interfering with the songs themselves.

However, this does not apply to the album as a whole with some of the songs getting lost in the swamps of over-production which can, at times, hamper the impact of Katell’s resonant voice. Some of the songs themselves don’t quite reach the heights of which we all know she is capable either. This may be because Katell’s musical tapestry spans such a wide frame of reference that the rich and diverse influences upon which she draws can lead her down the occasional blind alley. Certainly, songs like ‘Hestia’ and ‘Conch Shell’, while leaving you with admiration for Katell’s voice, contain lyrics that have a tendency to come across as somewhat self-indulgent street poetry e.g.”I want you/ But I don’t want your monkey/On his leash with a rabbi’s face hanging off your neck.” (‘Hestia’). Or: “Your love is like a conch shell/ Irregular and sleek/ You’re tougher than a ten-foot snail/ Chopped and stewing on the heat.” (‘Conch Shell’).

You could say that these lines have a cryptic and mysterious quality but you could equally argue that they’re downright meaningless and that the manner in which they’re delivered veers on the wrong side of preciousness.

That said, there is much to recommend O Seasons O Castles. Katell Keineg has one of the great voices and you can feel her digging down into the soul when she uses it. There is no doubt that with a tighter approach to production and greater consistency in the lyrics she could produce great records.

“You’ve got the promise of the future/ On the tip of your tongue”, she sings on ‘Destiny’s Darlin’: this is probably the most apt description of where she herself stands right now. Let's hope she fulfills that promise!

• Nicholas G Kelly