Description
As an artist he has travelled a long way both geographically and metaphorically – so it makes sense that Declan O’Rourke’s seventh album should be called Arrivals. The musician was born in Dublin, spent his childhood in the Australian town of Kyabram (as the title of his 2004 debut acknowledged) and he now resides in the Galway village of Kinvara. The singer-songwriter’s new record has been delayed several times, but it has been worth the wait. Arriving with great expectations – not just because he’s been releasing singles from it every couple of months, but also because he’s now produced by Paul Weller. With additional accompaniment from a fabulous string quartet, Arrivals makes for something rather ravishing for the ears that also nudges Americana into new territory.
There’s an almost intangible atmosphere that builds throughout the record. You can hear the influence Joni Mitchell – one of O’Rourke’s idols – on first single ‘The Harbour’, with its balance of longing and dreaming, as his acoustic guitar chimes under his warm, almost conversational vocals.
Arrivals is a grower of an album. Thanks to Weller’s production, the focused lyrics and the warmth of the string section, it could be the one that breaks O’Rourke into the Americana mainstream as a formidable singer-songwriter.
