Dara
A review of his album 'Dog-eared Memories'
Review
Snapshot: Yes, it's 'Welcome To Our New Direction", as someone who once
recorded songs that sounded like Prince and U2
(good thing) now goes all Ryan Adams (bad
thing). With antiseptically pristine production, though, so that Ronan Keating
fans can listen too.
The Cluas Verdict: 4 out of 10.
Full Review:
Alt-country, which sounds cool in theory but in practice usually means slow
churning guitars and maudlin lyrics, seems to be the bandwagon of choice for
today's inspiration-free singer-songer. Having previously dealt in '80s-style
big-arena pop on his 2000 debut 'The Eye Of The Clock' (a reasonably enjoyable
album, let it be said), Dara returns with something completely different. For
that at least, fair play to him.
However, his choice to follow the Ryan Adams route
of mythic Americana and bar-room philosophising is, on the scale of Bad Ideas in
Pop History, somewhere between 'Let's write about the war!' and 'Let Ringo sing
one!'
So, what we get is an immaculately-produced and -played album which sounds
completely soulless and contrived. All the singer-songer clich? are present and
correct - vague existential angst ('I'm Bleeding Something');
my-friend-the-beautiful-failure ('Heroine'); the New York song ('Another New
York Story'); that damn superficial and materialistic modern world we live in
('If You're Not Looking For A Leader, Come Follow Me') and as many American
allusions ('Kansas', 'Silver Dollar Moon') as possible.
Dara's one big idea, though, is that time passes. Notwithstanding the title of
his first album (see above), the recurring temporal references on songs like 'A
Room Of Used Things', 'Just Not Today' and 'Stumbling Through The Years' make
you wonder if his whole career isn't being underwritten by Weir's on Grafton
Street. Either that or he genuinely thinks that he has unearthed something
profoundly new and radical in what most of us discuss every New Year's Eve or
while waiting ages to get served at the bar.
This record does correlate, though, to Einstein's observation that time flies
when you're having fun but drags on during a painful experience. Now, which of
those two does this record belongs to, do you think?
Aidan Curran
Disagree with this review? Then
submit an alternative review.
