Monday 21 April 2014

Cormac O'Caoimh - 'The Moon Loses It's Memory'


Cormac O'Caoimh, 'Basement'

Info: Cormac O'Caoimh is a classical guitarist from Cork who released his debut album, Stark A Spark in 2007, and his music has been widely described as acoustic indie-pop, but I would deem that too narrow a description after listening to his upcoming new album, The Moon Loses It's Memory. O'Caoimh's dexterity on his Godin acoustic guitars certainly exhibit his classical background and often beautifully drift into high-tempo Spanish guitar reminiscent of Andalucian maestro Pepe Romero, in particular on the track 'Burning Coal' which will appear toward the end of the new album.

One of the most appealing things I found about O'Caoimh's music was the broad styles that somehow manage to fit together. At times the songs, such as the catchy 'Yellow Crumbs', sound like a mix of Belle & Sebastian and Bert Jansch, yet on other tracks such as 'Basement' (above) it sounds like the product of Genesis duo Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel collaborating on a duet. At other times you can picture O'Caoimh in a smoky jazz club, add into that his soulful and warm vocals and you end up with plenty to keep you interested. 

Cormac O'Caoimh, 'Maze of Your Heart'

Having supported the likes of Damien's Rice & Dempsey, Declan O'Rourke and Mark Geary, O'Caoimh is no stranger to the Irish music scene, he also counts among his fans Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith and Hothouse Flowers guitarist, Fiachtna Ó Braonáin. The Moon Loses It's Memory is due for release this summer around June / July and I get the impression it is an album that will accompany me on my travels in the future, given it's uplifitng and strong pop-folk vibe. Check out more of Cormac's music on his Bandcamp page below and as I always ask, if you can, give a brother a Like or a Follow on the usual social media platforms!