Damian O'Neill - Crann [CD]

2022 release, the long-awaited second solo album from The Undertones guitarist Damian O'Neill is an exquisitely inventive collection of largely instrumental tracks, mixed by veteran producer Paul Tipler. The title An Crann is Irish for "The Tree", a symbol of growth and inspiration. As Damian himself explains: "If someone listened to this record without knowing anything about me, they'd probably never guess that I started life in a punk band. I unashamedly wanted to present instrumental pieces that are emotional, evocative, and personal and offer to the listener textures and layers of music that can be melodic, childlike and even melancholic at times. There's obviously Irish folk traditional influences as well as French, Japanese, American and British. I'm playing virtually all the instruments myself, with added percussion on a couple of songs. It was recorded mainly at home over the last couple of years in the loft of our house on a laptop with an array of instruments such as electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, bass, organ, vibraphone, toy marimba and glockenspiel, melodica, mouth organ, squeezebox, kalimba, bells and various percussion and human voices."