Damien O'Kane - Avenging and Bright

The Guardian 20

(Pure Records)

Not many folk records begin with 30 seconds of 90s new-age trance, morphing into a vaguely Balearic lost Dire Straits B-side. And when the cover art features a man dressed in furs and gauntlet like a Game of Thrones extra, there is extra cause for alarm. Then again, Damien O’Kane says on his website he’s always tried “new ways of telling the old stories I love to find”. The electronics are glibly smooth throughout this album, turning tales of jailbirds in Boston City (Poor Strangers), and changing seasons (January Man) into bland shapes, engineering away drama, mood and personality. O’Kane’s textured Northern Irish vocals also sound oddly autotuned into position, particularly on Through All Bright Flowers, a traditional ballad about the turmoil Ireland has faced. If it’s aiming for the electronic eeriness of Kanye West’s 808 & Heartbreak, it fails. If this is winter coming, hibernation calls.