The Goo 1
Reviews Albums GARRY BAYLON Tuesday. Nothing GRAV
E GOODS Tuesday. Nothing Exists. Exists. the Debut album from Manchester/ Belfast/Dublin based trio, collectively known as Grave Goods, certainly packs a punch, as was promised from the recently released singles and various Ireland and UK appearances. From the opening CATCHY AND MEMORABLE MELODIES LORNA BROWN track ‘Come’, with its almost spoken word vocal delivery and steady ticking clock like rhythm, you are immediately opened up to a brutalist style of early post punk. Songs such as ‘None’ and ‘Source’, containing pitched guitar and rumbling basslines, give PADDY HANNA Imagine I’m Hoping Of course I know Paddy Hanna. He’s been around a while, one of our finest singer-songwriters. But, do I really know him? Not really. Not until his gorgeous new album, Imagine I’m Hoping. The record I’ve been dipping in & out of, enjoying over a cuppa, putting on in the background. Or listening more intently to. I just keep coming back for more. It’s that kind of album. LO-FI WITH WAVES OF WHISPERING, BOLD, SWEET, SOPRANO PAGE 14 Paddy Hanna has the sort of voice that I could listen to all day. Yes, I was (am!) a big Morrissey fan, and there are definite shades of Moz with Hanna. Imagine I’m Hoping winds down catchy and memorable melodies, but with an abrasive industrial feel. Lyrics, inspired by the philosophical existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre’s ‘Nausea’, are captivatingly delivered by lead singer Lois Macdonald in her UK Northern accent, giving the record an almost traditional punk feel, in the best possible way, i’m thinking Gang Of Four, The Fall, etc. Its a record that grabs your attention, demands it, with meaningful lyrics set against non conforming song structures, each song with a unique roads to early Pulp & the Divine Comedy, but Hanna is very much on his own path, too. ‘New York Sidewalk’ is all plinky piano & moody meandering, jazzy ba-da-da coming in towards the end. It’s multilayered & quietly surprising, much like Paddy Hanna himself. ‘Nightmares’ is big & bouncy, but the lyrics bring a darker edge. Dubliner Hanna, solo almost ten years now with an impressive album count, is a master at mixing glamour with grit. ‘Say Goodbye’ is hauntingly played out on harmonica, with choral voices wafting in behind. The sounds of Imagine I’m Hoping individual feel, a striking aural effect, that will have you delving deep into them. The trio have brought with them their experience and knowledge from former/current bands, PINS, Girls Names, and September Girls and put it all to collective good use, on an experimental sounding record that, containing only seven tracks and 23 minutes long, finishes all too soon, with closing track ‘Die’ finishing abruptly and undoubtedly leaving most listeners, myself included, wanting and looking forward to hearing more. are lo-fi with waves of whispering, bold, sweet, soprano voice washing over proceedings, both rough & smooth. Recorded not just during the Pandemic but also during a time of big personal triumph for Hanna (marriage, a baby daughter) Imagine I’m Hoping feels intimate in a way that Paddy Hanna is inviting us to laugh, learn & feel with him. Writing this on Halloween feels apt, as there’s a sort of haunted cabaret thing going on with the opening number “Look For Tomorrow” in full falsetto, big brass runaway traintune glory. A magical start to a great album.