PREMIERE: Monaghan "neo-Western" act Jordan Dennis unveils 'Equalize' from debut EP

Armed with guitar riffs that could match Royal Blood, hard rock/new blues musician has combined his country Western influences to create a form of "neo-Western" music, heavily featured on his EP's focus track 'Equalize'.

Having showcased his material on the road, Jordan completed work on his debut EP in September. The Man In The Hat project was recorded at The Homestead Studio in Dennis' town of Castleblayney, mixed and Mastered by James Darkin (Hozier, Gavin James, Dermot Kennedy) at Black Mountain Studios and Sami Bianchi (Ennio Morricone) at Oscar/Grammy winning Forum Studios in Rome.

The Man In The Hat consists of four tracks; ‘The Man in the Hat’, ‘King of the Strings’, ‘Battle Cry’ and the focus single ‘Equalize’, premiered by Hot Press below.

It marks a hard hitting first musical offering with hooking riffs, blistering solos and orchestral overtures. "The good, the bad, the ugly / All will answer in time / like the hammer of the gods / set fire from the pulpit / I will equalize," he sings in his signature gravelly tone.

Set to stories, lyrics and themes about the human experience interpreted through the lens of the western genre, 'Equalize' has a distinctively religious overtone.

“Raised Catholic and educated at a convent, I have always had a strong Christian faith," Jordan tells Hot Press of the single. "Though not always seeing eye to eye with the Church and its stances. Like many, my faith had been tested which led to some soul searching in that regard. Having voiced my own beliefs concerning social and humanitarian standards with various parishes and denominations."

The musician soon felt disenfranchised, having essentially been told that his own values and beliefs were considered “secular”, from LGBTQ people being allowed to be full members of the church, baptise their children and receive communion to women entering leadership roles on an equal basis to men.

The frustration of his faith clashing with his morals form the hard hitting heavy riffage powerhouse in 'Equalize', with all the anger and visceral disgust.

Described as "a two-finger salute to those institutions who believe themselves men above god", ‘Equalize’ is his own rebut to the establishment of organised religion.

His own statement reads: "Live and let live, love and let love. Be kind to others and be kind to yourself as God made you.”

The Man in the Hat EP came about from Jordan’s experience as a musician and healthcare professional working the frontline during the Covid-19 pandemic. Having contracted the virus and becoming seriously ill, he was diagnosed with cognitive OCD.

Struggling with his mental health, he began focusing on his songwriting.

“I have always been inspired by Western Cinema and its themes," he explains. "With the dire state of the world at that time, as an artist I saw a lot of parallels. Coming out of the pandemic was very much like a new frontier. Nobody knew what to expect. Things would never be as they were. ‘The Man in the Hat’ was a character which came out the other side of all that. The message I would like people to take away from this work is to persevere. You may not set the stage though; you can play your part. Own your character.”

Cutting his teeth performing to the unforgiving crowds throughout his local saloons, Jordan Dennis began making waves, appearing at several acclaimed music festivals including The Rory Gallagher Festival (Eric Gales) and The Harvest Time Blues Festival (Artur Menezes, Pat McManus).

June 2022 saw Jordan embark on his first tour supporting Mascot Records (Joe Bonamassa, Steve Via) US artists The Cold Stares throughout the UK.

Returning to Ireland that July making his debut appearance at Dublin’s renowned Whelan's main stage, Jordan supported legendary slide guitarist Roosevelt Collier on the Irish leg of his EU Tour. In August, Jordan was approached by Tres Hombre Management to support US blues rocker Zach Person in the UK.

Jordan is currently working with the Oscar winning Czech National Symphony Orchestra on further projects which will be released in 2023 - including conducting a live orchestral performance of the title track, 'The Man in the Hat'.