GAVIN RYAN’S ‘difficult’ third LP arrives on the back of two remarkable outings, 2006’s ‘Broken Blues’ and 2009’s ‘Love And Punishment.’
The first was a truly mature affair: a classy troubadour’s debut straddling blues, soul and Americana, with the range to take in everything from jazzy, afterhours laments (‘She’ll Soon Come Running Back To Me’), amped-up rockers (‘E-Mail To A Girl In Santa Barbara’) and the gorgeously fragile ‘Tenderness.’ Recorded at Dublin’s famous Windmill Lane, ‘Love And Punishment’, meanwhile, was a satisfyingly confident follow-up, with Ryan’s acrobatic voice in viciously good nick; proving willing and able whether tackling steaming rockers (‘Lonesome As A Cloud’), beguiling balladry (‘Sweet Santa Cruz’, the Van Morrison-esque ‘Sadie’) or the more arcane likes of the Tom Waits-ian ‘Midnight Blues’.
Both were gloriously realised records full of daring, though in both cases, the listener never quite knew where Ryan would be headed next. As it turns out, Kinsale-based Dubliner’s third is something of a retreat to gentler, more intimate pastures, but that shouldn’t be mis-read as a loss of quality in any way, for after a few plays ‘Time’ (housed in an attractive sleeve with artwork by Siobhan Waldron) reveals itself to be the third mightily fine LP to bear the name Gavin Ryan.
Recorded primarily with a tight, accomplished but never obtrusive trio of drummer Ross Turner, bassist Shane Fitzsimons and long-time keyboard foil Brian Connor; ‘Time’ has all the hallmarks of a real grower. Matched by a supremely earthy vocal, the prowling, dirty blues of ‘My Baby Don’t Care For Me’ is arguably the closest thing in spirit here to ‘Love And Punishment’, though the tense ‘Living For Today’ (“They say some people sink, some people swim/ well, I’ve drowned my sorrows deep in my drink”) again finds Ryan walking a familiar emotional tightrope.
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For the most part, though, ‘Time’ plays out its subtle, under-stated seduction. Caressed by an exquisite yearn of a vocal, brushed drums and flecks of glockenspiel, ‘Loser (Prologue)’ sets the scene for a series of stately, melancholic outings such as ‘Spend Some Time On Me’, the sparse, waltz-time ‘I’ll Be Home’ and ‘I Don’t Want To Die’ which – remarkably – sounds as naked and vulnerable as its title.
It’s not all languid introspection however. ‘Fast Girl’ is a jaunty, love at first sight stroll; ‘Stay With Me’ – with its balalaika-style rhythm and Gallic flavour - is truly heady and the jazz-tinged soul of the closing title ensures the listener is again left pondering where this singularly talented, but shockingly under-valued performer will strike out once the credits have stopped rolling.
Gavin Ryan online
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