"Seize the Day", produced by John Reynolds, is the second of DAMIEN DEMPSEY'S three albums, and my personal favourite by a long shot.
It opens with the Marley-esque "Negative Vibes", where Dempsey displays the remarkable ability to cram as many syllables into one word as humanly possible - "I'm never g-o-ing to let, your ne-ga-t-ive vibes and com-ments get thr-rou-gh to my psy-che and cri-pple me..," you get the picture.
Yes folks, here we have a whole load of unabashed rapping in a thick Dublin accent. I'm not entirely convinced in all honesty; at times Dempsey sounds a bit like a schoolboy chanting his favourite Beastie Boys track in the playground. Although on 'Celtic Tiger' he really pulls it off, and as he recently explained to W&H, rapping is the best medium for getting everything he wants to say into a 5-minute pop song. And believe me, he has a lot to say.
Some of the songs on the album are just glorious, such as 'It's All Good", an uplifting beautiful track full of Uilleann pipes, orchestral violins, Sinead O'Connor singing backing vocals (as she does throughout most of this album); complete with the opening lyrics of "I'm an angry man, I vent it when I can, on the bag, not the skag." It works, trust me.
"Jar Song" is a glorious ode to drinking, rum and sodomy (well, stout and 'getting your hole'). In it, he sings about the drunken habits of prominent Irish figures - for example how Brendan Behan would get off his face on cheap wine and 'find a lad and a lass, ride them both and then go to mass', or how he went out on the lash once with Shane McGowan and 'woke up on the floor'. True or no, it's funny, and it's a great drinking song, with more than a sting of irony for those who can be bothered to look further.
The aforementioned 'Celtic Tiger' - a euphemism for the economic boom of the 1990's in Ireland - is an acidic commentary on corrupt governments and the greed of big business. Sinead O'Connor's backing vocals are magic, and really add weight to the song, starting off ethereal and becoming more angry as the song builds. Certainly one to give you the shivers.
|
I really had to draw the line under "Industrial School" though, which has more Tooralooraloo Whackfoldadi's than a Leprechaun at a Guinness festival held in a field full of four leaf clovers. The subject matter of the song being how the Irish are proud of their heritage, but they tend to sweep issues like religious repression, child abuse, and sexual repression beneath the carpet.
Meanwhile, "Marching Season Siege" departs from the penny whistles and fiddles, and actually sounds a bit Glam-Rock. Again, as with all of his songs, there's a strong political message shouted out here (use your imagination about the topic). This is great angry music at it's best. First and foremost, the music is top, and then when you figure out what the song is about, bingo, you get the message.
"Seize the Day" is another rocky number, and it's effin fantastic. No political message here, just Dempsey telling us to live every day as though it's our last. It rocks. And I will.
The entire album is a strange mix of traditional Irish folk music, rap, rock, and reggae. Dempsey's lyrics are poignant, uncompromising, and straight to the point. He sings loudly and passionately, and people are sitting up and taking notice.
However, I ask myself, had Sinead O'Connor not done the backing vocals, would I have liked it as much? Not that I am suggesting that the album relies solely on her vocals, but they definitely balance out Dempsey's voice, which can get slightly monotonous after a while. Then I thought, "Sack it, the album is what it is": an extremely good, very unusual and powerful album with ridiculously eclectic influences and lots of Uilleann pipes and penny whistles. Fabulous.
|
