Damien Rice - 'O' (DRM)
4/5
By: Toby L
Simple, understated and chillingly bare, the recording and production on 'O', Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice's debut-LP, may be intentionally lacking - but its effect pulls off much aplomb. And, with strings so soaringly beautiful, you'll be struggling to reach the Kleenex box in time of your eyes welling up, plus an ambience so downbeat that it's the musical-alternative to lying down, 'O' is undeniably a headphones-record, too intimate and starkly moving to be amplified from a hi-fi.
Opening with the bafflingly pretty 'Delicate', a fitting title by all means, and soon progressing into other similar vignettes of gentle vocals, plucky acoustic-guitar and mournful piano, it doesn't take long for you to realise that Damien's words hold an extraordinary depth of meaning - specifically in the relationships-department, no less. However, despite the overall article, some lyrics particularly stand out within his compositions of yearning and insecurity, the first number's 'Why'd you sing Hallelujah if it means nothing to ya,' and 'The Brewer's Daughter's 'I can't take my eyes off you' sentiments notably proving memorable.
Musically, however, there are occasional triumphs of sound here, too. Following the reclusive pace of 'Cheers Darlin' and its main tune, intricate and cold electric guitar soothes and segues into the advancing 'Cold Water', a further piece of fervour-fuelled balladry, which marks the arrival of the finest moment, 'I Remember', where Rice erupts with all of his pent-up desperation and allows a beguiling explosion, his voice snapping and the instruments grinding to be heard behind the frantic drums. As intense as Radiohead, but as traditional in its approach as Neil Young, it's by now that you're fully affirmed of Damien's current and potential future greatness.
... Honestly, it's no wonder that Rice's album has gone platinum in his native-country; with the right exposure in other worldly regions, such a result seems destined to repeat itself.
Artists in this article: Damien Rice
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