Wexford singer-songwriter Gordon Barry has released a new EP titled All The Live Long Year.

The new project comes three years after his 2017 debut album, The Best Way To Kill a Monster. A single off that album, ‘Devil & St. Jesus’, won the top prize for lyrics at the International Songwriting Competition, judged by Chris Cornell, Lorde and other acclaimed musicians.

Gordon’s new EP finds him channeling Tom Waits, another of the judges of the contest. The lead single, a cover of Jolie Holland’s ‘Old Fashioned Morphine’, has the grimy organs and soulful, plodding rhythm of something off Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards.

This resemblance is no accident. Upon winning the ISC, Gordon said “some of the judges are huge influences on me, none more so than Tom Waits, who I consider one of the greatest lyricists of our time.

“For him to have a say in the win is very pleasing, and to think that the words stand alone as a solitary piece and are recognised by such people is something I am really grateful for.”

Though the sound of the rest of Gordon’s EP is brighter, it’s no less bluesy. The slide guitar on ‘My Name is Never’ and ‘Roll With The Punches’ recalls classic country-western, serenading Gordon as he sings about leaving a love behind.

The other track on the EP, ‘Ghost of a River’, has charming hints of bluegrass. What sounds like a banjo plays a gentle melody while Gordon sings “if you go walking, you might find / a ghost of a river runs by your side.”

All The Live Long Year is available on all major streaming services. Listen to its lead single, ‘Old Fashioned Morphine’, on Spotify below.

https://open.spotify.com/track/5QWMgQtjA8JzXiHKnvsOKK?si=h2Yi2klCThOhE-J23s7ndg