Wood

While even some of our better songwriters can only shine in introspective acoustic settings, and their guitar playing is often there merely to provide an underbelly for the vocal, Mullingar-based Peter Doran can vary both mood and tempo and is an ace guitar player to boot.
Although the opening track ‘Scenic Route’ does not augur well, with his Loudon Wainwright-like voice wobbling unsettlingly in a song that opens like Christy’s ‘Ride On’, from there on its uphill all the way. He’s also well-served by his band too, with Johnny Owen on violin adding a plaintive touch to ‘Loose’. There’s a loose funkiness to the pleading ‘Mr Giant’, and ‘Filling Spaces’ is a laid-back affair, its tasteful guitar playing setting the mood and building towards a slightly anguished conclusion. ‘Ten Thousand Bees’ has a lazy lilting Latino sway to it, and ‘Treasure Chest’ has an irresistible rhythm to spur Doran’s vocal is at its most appealing. ‘Wood’ also benefits from a moving vocal performance from Doran, with Gerard Toal’s cello adding a hint of foreboding. This is an admirable debut that should open doors and minds.