De Barra’s regular Wednesday night ‘Sitting Room Sessions’ provides a vital platform for all budding singer/ songwriters in West Cork and beyond. Intimate and relaxed (down to the sofa and bookshelves adorning the stage), it really is like having your favourite band unplug and play especially for you in your front room.
It’s a credit to its curator, GAVIN MOORE, who plays a suitably tasteful set to get us in the mood for tonight’s headliners, Tipperary/ Cork alliance MONORAIL who come to the heart of West Cork on the back of their recently-released (and highly assured) debut album ‘Sleepers.’
As befits the surroundings, it’s a stripped down set tonight. The band’s rhythm section haven’t made the trip, so it would seem singer/ songwriter Seamus Hennessy and his highly capable musical lieutenant David Murphy will have an uphill battle to capture the vibrancy and colour of their accomplished album.
That’s not how it pans out, though. Exuding a calm and unflappable presence, they exude intuition and skill and burrow down to the very core of these emotionally-scarred songs. Sure, the funky elasticity the band display on record (especially on songs like ‘Follow, Don’t’ and ‘The Spy’) can’t be matched, but – even minus the ebb and flow of the rhythm section – Hennessy and Murphy perfectly capture the elemental glory of ‘River’ (“the deeper you get, the further you are from home”), with Murphy’s striking harmonica and some dead-on harmonies culminating in a notable acapella ending.
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The more reflective end of Hennessy’s song-writing spectrum is especially suited to such intimate surroundings, however, so it’s no surprise that it’s numbers like the mellow, introspective ‘Calm Place’ and the brittle break-up song ‘Perch’ hit home the hardest tonight. Then there’s the recent single ‘Hearts of Gold’ and even without Gemma Hayes’ smoky vocal presence, it has a stately, dignified air about it. Indeed, its’ tale of good love gone bad (“she’s like an angel crying/ rain pouring down...it soaks into my very skin”) is one of the loveliest things I’ve heard in recent times.
Honing a series of finely-crafted Folk-Roots gems that aim straight for the heart, Monorail are most definitely on a roll. Grab a return ticket and stick with them until the end of the line and back.
Monorail online
De Barra's website
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