Pat Dam Smyth is a bearded folkie from Northern Ireland whose busking background stands him in good stead for the twelve tunes of his debut album.
The one-man-band feel remains despite the fact that he has bass and drum backing together with some brass and strings on a few tracks. Smythe himself plays piano, guitars, bass, organ and bazuki.
Most songs strike me as ballads conceived in barrooms and intended to the performed in a similar setting.
The sing-along lines to Candy, U ("here's a song for U, no matter what you do') and Riches To Rags ("when you've lost what you have, it's riches to rags") , for example, are easy to remember even after a few pints. This mood culminates in the extended all hands to the (beer) pump boozy finale of Slip John.
However, this jovial feel masks an undercurrent of melancholy with themes of absence, connection and finding your true identity. The album is dedicated to his late father.
Smyth's song writing shows that Ray Davies and the Kinks is a strong influence especially on tracks such as Friends and The Ides of March.
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Jan Marie Little contributes strings and vocals to the album's best songs :Set In Stone and Willow's Song; the latter being the one cover song, a version of Paul Giovanni's beautiful ballad from the soundtrack to The Wicker Man.
These, along with the slightly Cohen-esque title track and The Dark Knight of the Soul, work best as they seem to be more personal statements instead of being simply crowd pleasing numbers.
All told, it's a good-hearted, if somewhat ramshackle collection, rooted in a love of good songs and an optimistic belief that life offers more kicks than pricks.
Pat Dam Smyth on Myspace
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