‘More Time’ is the latest release from Dublin based singer-songwriter, Eileen Gogan. The track is from her upcoming album, ‘Under Moving Skies’, which features guest appearances from luminaries such as Sean O’Hagan, Cathal Coughlan, Damian O’Neill, Terry Edwards and Stephen Ryan (The Stars of Heaven, The Revenants, The Drays). The album is self-produced by Eileen and showcases the skills of this talented artist.
‘More Time’ is dreamily wistful, Eileen’s voice set against a gentle instrumental which gradually adds in backing vocals. It’s a distinctly Irish sound, reminiscent of The Corrs and The Cranberries, but this is by no means a criticism, more an acknowledgment that Gogan sings what she knows, and her music reflects her environment. There’s a fun ending to the track which we won’t spoil for you, but it will pay to bear the song’s title in mind.
‘Under Moving Skies’ is the follow-up to her acclaimed debut, the concise and sparkling ‘Spirit Of Oberlin’, and takes its inspiration from a much wider sound palette. Clearly relishing her role at the mixing desk, Eileen has written a collection of songs that take her far beyond previous boundaries.
Among the remaining seven self-penned songs of the 8 on the album are acoustic based pop nuggets such as the doughty ‘I Don’t Mind’ and the bouzouki-adorned ‘Yes, Music Does Have the Right To Children’, as well as ventures into more spatial, widescreen territory with the evocative and eerie ‘San Fran 1997’, the spectral ‘Sweet Alice’ and ’Don’t Let Me Sleep’, a classic soul update that drifts into another world mid-song.
By contrast, ‘Echo’ is a suitably bare-boned meditation on a troubled relationship while the infectious ‘Malibu Stacy’ is all lip-gloss and Latin swagger. Adding further variety is a glistening instrumental by Undertones legend Damian O’Neill (who also provides the crackling guitar break on ‘Don’t Let Me Sleep’) and album closer ‘Celebration’, an a cappella version of a Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill poem for which Gogan has created a haunting air, providing the perfect showcase for her pure vocal style.
As a singer, Eileen’s unaffected delivery has invited comparisons with Sandy Denny and Kirsty MacColl, but her sound – a blend of glistening guitar and vintage keyboards – draws on a range of influences such as Richard and Linda Thompson, Neil Young, Can, Patti Smith, REM and Yo La Tengo. Her first album, ‘The Spirit of Oberlin’, was recorded with her band The Instructions and released in late 2015. It received widespread praise and was subsequently performed live at Longitude Festival, The Electric Picnic, Whelans, The Grand Social bar and Bello bar.
Outside of her solo work, Eileen has sung with The Would Bes’, The Revenants and The Drays and performed with Microdisney at their 2018-19 reunion concerts.
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