Recorded at home in his bedroom and released on Gary Lightbody’s label Third Bar, the second album from Ollie Cole finds him in a state of domestic bliss. Named for his daughter (Emily Wren), Year Of The Bird is essentially a collection of love songs from a clearly doting dad.
The tunes – recorded in one take – are intimate in atmosphere and light of touch sonically, with the odd foray into full-band, indie territory. Cole plays most of the instruments, with contributions from pals Glen Hansard, Gemma Hayes and former bandmate Gavin Fox. ‘Helium Heart’ starts out as a gently-strummed, pastoral affair with delicate percussion and bottleneck guitar, before evolving into a more electric tune. Hypnotic and compelling, mid-tempo rocker ‘Golden Leaf ’ is buoyed by lovely harmonies and a jangly guitar pattern, while on the wistful ‘I’ll Be Your Shelter’, Cole croons lovingly, “I’ll be the bed you lie upon/You’ll be the flower/I’ll be the sun.”
Boasting a languid, mid-’70s Laurel Canyon country-rock feel, ‘Magnolia’ is far and away the strongest song here, with a particularly heartfelt and soulful vocal from Cole. Elsewhere, a psychedelic folk influence can be heard on the haunting ‘Wide Open’, while the epic, eight-minute title-track finds the singer in late-night introspective mode – the tune extending somewhat indulgently into an elongated jam. Overall? Well worth hearing.
KEY TRACK: 'Magnolia'