The title of the gorgeous new solo album from Kíla’s frontman means ‘break’, ‘rest’ or ‘breather’ in Irish. Whilst the lyrics are entirely as gaelige, musically, SOS breaks from the trad Irish sound, with forays into rock, pop, world, ethereal, funk and folk. Conor Murray plays drums, Stephen Mogerley double bass, Crowded House’s Nick Seymour bass, Liam Ó Maonlaí keyboards, and Pete ‘Pamf’ Ruotolo guitar. Pamf also mixed and produced SOS, giving it his trademark funky feel, which contrasts strikingly with Ó Snodaigh’s bardic delivery.
The subject matter of SOS is truly spiritual, in that it charts the fall and the rise, the disintegration and reintegration, of the human spirit. For listeners who, like me, don’t understand much Irish, it’s well worth visiting www.ronanosnodaigh.com to read the English lyric translations. It deepens your appreciation of tracks such as the title-tune, about a man under pressure striving to provide for his family, the beautifully hypnotic ‘Seod’, in which being there for your loved ones is considered a ‘jewel’; ‘Seachain’, a prayer that the mind may be enlisted to assuage anger and inner tumult, and so find peace; and ‘Anam Ionam’, a summoning of the heroic qualities we often need to thrive through life’s challenges.
Whilst SOS travels to dark places, its final track, ‘Braithin’, all jubilant bells and brass, is a moving closing chapter – a wonderful end to an uplifting album.

Key Track: 'Braithim / I Feel'