Graham Reid | | <1 min read
With Dudley Benson's recent Forest
existing between a cappella choral singing and waiata, and classical
composer John Psathas using loops, sequencing and having pieces
played by jazz musicians, interesting niches are being prized open in
local music. Classically trained violinist and singer-songwriter
Keoghan's debut finds another, somewhere between brightly memorable
pop and cleverly arranged, folk-influenced art music.
Ca Va Bien Merci (in English)
rides a soft electro-pulse; the title track lives somewhere in the
early experimental Eightiess (a less menacing Cure-meets-Roxy Music); the
beautiful I Only Have Eyes for You opens with a faux-choral
part and tinkling piano; elsewhere he plucks his violin or strums it
like a ukulele (the delightful Clean Sheets and a Fishbowl);
Dr Seuss Sounds woos with French horn . . .
However it's Keoghan's clear, strong
voice and elliptical lyrics which command attention, being delivered
up-close and central, with gorgeously melodic swoops and soars (often
multi-tracked as backing vocals).
In a sense Keoghan's path has been prepared by Rufus Wainwright, the Tokey Tones, Fleet Foxes, Benson and others.
But he's his own man and – with subtle assistance from Flip Grater, Victoria Girling-Butcher, Ben King, drummer/producer Wayne Bell and others – delivers an impressive debut about gentle, often confusing love.
Like the sound of this? Then check out this.
post a comment