Imagine…
Paul Hourican plays music that can easily fall under the monarchy of Acoustic, Alternative or even Folk, however what makes him instantly different is the smooth and clean production that gives us a sound that is so professionally polished that you can see you face in the disc • okay, bad analogy, I mean the inlay cover, as obviously you can see your face in the CD, just like every other CD…anyway you get what I mean.
Here we have four songs from Paul’s debut album of the same title, ‘Let The Enemy In’. I guess if I was too be critical, which of course is my job, then I would say that the four songs here are all slow paced. First song, ‘Even Though You’re Gone’ has an Indie meets Hard Rock feel. Let me explain: The structure is like a well produced song by Coldplay, and therefore comes across like a powerballad but minus the cheese. Quite often it’s obvious with singers or musicians from Ireland as to where they originate from, however here if anything, Paul songs quite American, and I’m undecided as to whether or not this is a plus or a minus.
‘She’s Gotta Be (The One)’ is again of the middle of the road variety and could well be a Rock band covering the likes of Barry Manilow or Neil Diamond, however again this isn’t as bad as that might suggest…honest. This leads nicely to, ‘All I Ever Wanted’ which is laid back, and a song for a Sunday afternoon with a coffee and time to contemplate life. The added female vocals add a special magic to this song, and Paul’s vocals, that here are slightly more gravely, come across very strong. This is certainly one of the highlights.
There is no doubt that Paul Hourican can write a nice gentle and thoughtfully poetic number, and in the last song, ‘Lost At Sea’ we have a tune that has a great piano melody like John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’, and it is of this era that Paul appears to be most influenced. Like with the aforementioned artists, the late 70’s and early 80’s slow ballads have been broken down and rebuilt here quite successfully, proving once again that with a bit of skill you can make money from old rope.
The good news is that there isn’t a lot of music like this anymore, as Paul can produce music that is not riff driven, or strong on melody, but built around words of poetry wrapped gently in soothing and Easy Listening. I’m not sure that this is one for the kids, but you can bet your Queen’s Head that mums, dads and grandparents will find this a soothing alternative to thumping bass lines and loud guitars, But go on Paul, live dangerously and stick in a real foot-tapper!