'The Moon Loses its Memory' is the third solo release from Cormac O'Caoimh, the singer songwriter and classical guitarist from Cork.
As a result, what you get here is a collection of fourteen beautiful songs that veer between folk and indie pop. The CD is packaged as a digipak, with a lyric booklet which both feature some wonderful images courtesy of the photographer William Crowley, whose pictures tend to fit the songs perfectly. For example to the track 'Maze Of Your Heart' the pictures feature a spider's web caught in the sunlight.
The opening track, the above mentioned 'Maze Of Your Heart' is a guitar driven folky composition that slowly works its way into your psyche, gradually building, with lyrics that make more sense the more they are repeated as they can come across as quite abstract: - “You got wishes you're waltzing, assaulting, exhausting/ You got wishes you're waltzing, they're all danced out now”.
The track 'Man Of Sand' is a real tour de force, featuring guitar and violin with a stark arrangement, it is a track that compels you to listen. The lyrics are really strong here and stand out over the arrangement: - “I am, I am, I am a man of sand/ Deceived, defeated by conceit/ I am, I am, I am a man of sand. Deceived, defeated by conceit/ I make my own bad luck, like the marks on my torn shirt/ I stand tall but stay stuck, on land while the sea...Is taunting me”.
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'Thirst & Water' is another high point on the album, a warm folksy masterpiece with guitar and vocals standing out in the mix, and featuring Aoife Regan on backing and harmonising vocals. This is a song that will remain with the listener long after it has ended. The lyrics discuss a relationship which doesn't appear to be at its best: - “I'm wearing the coat, the one you said didn't suit me/ I put on weight, stood up straight, to try to make it fit correctly... And I've got a match, your tears and my shoulder/ Your heart's growing cold, and mine's getting older”.
Overall, this is an excellent piece of work, in which some of the minimal arrangements work far better for their sparseness. This would be an excellent addition to anyone's CD collection.
Cormac O'Caoimh online
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