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The press release suggests a shift in the Earth: Fionn Regan's
plugged in his guitar and notched up the attitude. But hold on to your
shaking heads and save the Bob Dylan comparisons, for The Shadow Of An
Empire keeps the Irish singer-songwriter closer to his folk beginnings
than the pre-boom buzz might have you believe.
Lead single Protection Racket was an eye-opener, pledging
allegiance to a barn-storming, punch-up and get-dancing spirit. To
announce it a good four months before Regan's second album came by in
its full form seemed - at the time - to be a means of warning the fans
whose hearts were stolen by Regan's Mercury nominated debut, The End Of
History, that this was going to be a completely
different ride.
And to some extent, those warded away by October's giveaway
download will be left equally dumbfounded by the likes of Genocide
Matinee (musically citing Johnny Cash's early days) and Coat
Hook (a perfectly structured two-and-a-half-minutes of modern day rock
'n' roll).
But somehow Regan maintains the charm that seeped into
his more delicate debut, a debut which is as equally honoured as this
new direction is; Catacombs doesn't completely replace a strum with a
pluck, but vocals are uniquely untamed and loose, just as they were in
2006's Put A Penny In The Slot and Hey Rabbit.
But Lines Written In Writer and Lord Help My Poor Soul see the
songwriter at an emotional low; the former admitting "I want to tell
you that I'd make your bed, break it up and I'd do it again, so it
feels like you've been here, but I know that you're not, coming home".
It almost seems as if this crusade of hard-knuckle rock music of which
Regan's become swept away in is a gimmick to help him keep a
distance from real emotions.
Lines Written In Winter arrives at a
crucial time as a perfect example of acoustic songwriting, squeezed
between the muscular House Detective and Violent Demeanour, and
it's pretty much the only occasion where the lyricist exposes himself
through first person.
Reciting music milestones that few records dare to, Regan somehow
manages to keep his head, continuing to write well developed melodies
and striking lyrics. He remains a formidable wordsmith, and a fast
mover by the looks of things. However his career develops, it will be
crucial for him to keep a tight hold of the bewitching elements that
help make not just his debut, but also his latest, a refreshing
listen.
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