Talented Cork singer-songwriter IAN WHITTY has been working up to his full-length debut for some time. He's been a hard-working figure on the scene for several years now and his time spent working the open mic nights and key support slots has clearly been well spent as he's built up an admirable catalogue of songs to plunder for 'The Lucky Caller No.9'
Recorded over several sessions in both the wilds of West Cork and the hills of County Wicklow, the album was produced by respected Irish producer Ken McHugh (David Kitt, Autamata) and features Whitty's proficient and inventive band The Exchange. Together, they have worked up a series of emotive and intelligent arrangements for Ian's acutely-observed songs of love, loss and heartache and the results are eminently satisfying from start to finish.
Coming early on, the impressive recent singles 'Not On Your Side' and 'Houndstooth Shirt' give you some idea what to expect. The catchy, handclap-riven 'Not On Your Side' is pithy and well-crafted and benefits from some sharp wordplay (“I had Batman's belt, I had a grappling hook/ but still I lost my Queen to a smarter Rook”), while 'Houndstooth Shirt' is a memorable paean to Friday night oblivion, driven along by graceful strings and vivid lyrical observations (“I watch the dolly birds with their painted eyes/ I'm getting jealous of the breeze that's blowing round their thighs”) redolent of Elvis Costello or Chris Difford at their best.
Both of these are terrific, but by no means the obvious standouts here. Songs like the strident opener 'City Friend' and the restless 'While The Drunken Jailor Sleeps' boast vivid, widescreen arrangements and the band stepping out with a real spring in their step; 'Fallen Stars In Late Night Bars' sways magnificently and 'Bought & Sold' marries an all-too real storyboard of fragile love with caveats writ large (“I'm really glad I met you, 'cos it gets too much now and then/ and you can hold my hand, but please first understand that I mostly need a friend”) with a big, shivery crescendo of an opening and a convincingly urgent vocal from Whitty.
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Hearteningly, 'The Lucky Caller No.9' is every bit as effective when the pace slacks a little. Built around acoustic guitar, strategic strings and a close-miked and emotional Whitty vocal, 'She Knocks Me Out' (“it's been over a week since I heard the door creak and the footprint that took her away”) is a vivid portrait of a guy hardly getting over it, while both the sparse 'Tugging Of An Older Day' and 'The Family's Still Young” drag an attractive undertow of world-weariness in their wake.
They save arguably their finest moment to date for the finale, courtesy of 'Walking To Meet You': a chiming anthem suffused with roughly equal amounts of trepidation and expectation. The band deliver a sterling performance and Ian steps up to the mark with one of his most charismatic lead vocals. It's one of those that grabs you the first time you hear it and it's the perfect way to bring the album to a close on a high note.
'The Lucky Caller No. 9', then, is impressively free of weak links and pushes all the right buttons for anyone who still cares about emotionally-resonant songs written with skill and performed with fire to spare. And, thankfully, there are still plenty of us who do.
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