Pete Fagan Many Suits Review

Pete Fagan is something of a veteran on the Irish scene, with more than a decade of performing under various guises behind him (including with his outfit The Troubadours and more recently as one half of the duo, Edisons).

He takes the singer-songwriter route on his solo debut, though mostly it’s a full band affair. With influences encompassing the broad sweep of Americana, including country, folk and rootsy rock, there’s still a definite Irish touch. This approach suits his rugged, lived-in vocal style and the overall swagger of the music. With piano and fiddle among the instrumental backing, the opener ‘Take Me On Down’ is a rousing blend of The Pogues, Springsteen and Dexy’s with more than a hint of the Waterboys thrown in.

By contrast, the title-track is an understated, atmospheric country-folk tune that could have been written by Guy Clarke. The epic ‘Queen Of Hearts’ boasts a full band arrangement and a particularly impassioned vocal from Fagan who really does give it his all. A more atmospheric backdrop – including lush strings – underpins, ‘Lucky’, a slow-burning, piano-led ballad that, given the right push, could prove a winner.

Elsewhere, ‘Without You’ mixes up rollicking banjo-fuelled bluegrass with flailing fiddles, a thumping rhythm and a rousing, sing-along chorus: it’s not a million miles away from the kind of thing that made the Mumfords go global. Meanwhile the suitably-monikered closer, ‘I’ve Got To Go’, is a sweeping, widescreen rocker that echoes Springsteen’s River-era belter, ‘The Price You Pay’.