Back on Kitchenware, but still apparently making records entirely for his own reasons, a new Cathal Coughlan record seems destined to make a few people very happy but make only the smallest dint on the wider world. But the few tend to be very happy.
What tends to draw in the faithful, as well as Coughlan’s wearied but compelling tones, is his elegant way with a phrase and a marginal character – often downbeat, defeated and even grotesque but always with a bleak, dry but slightly absurd humour that is rarely matched.
Where he’s not sketching out some semi-fictional seedy drop out from the world of showbusiness or politics, he’s trying to express the struggle of the self-doubter in a world where the state spends so much time checking whether or not (and why) you’re making enough effort to live the bland, safe drone-existence that they offer and assume everyone really wants.
Musically there’s the odd burst of electric guitar, it’s mostly simple and acoustic – swinging theatrical, but downbeat, folk-pop melodies. The song’s the thing and it demands listening. As a result it’s not an immediate record, but it’s a really good one, grown-up one in the best sense, rewarding every repeated listen with a new phrase, either musical or lyrical, to cherish.
Courtesy of http://www.Soundsxp.com – vorsprung durch Musik