Out On A Limb have consistently flown the flag for quality and independence on the Irish circuit for the best part of a decade now. The Limerick-Cork alliance has already brought us the likes of giveamanakick, Ten Past Seven, The Waiting Room and Crayonsmith, but this is their first split 7" release since 2006.
And it's a belter. Limerick's WINDINGS we've known about for a while now. Their eponymous debut was released in 2005 and it (mostly) showcased a more introspective side to ex-givemanakick front growler Steve Ryan's psyche. Since then, his project has expanded to a more recognised 'group' identity with contributions from Liam Marley, Aaron Mulhall, Patrick O'Brien and Stephen Purcell and their long-awaited second album is finally scheduled for an October release.
They weigh in with the enigmatic 'Old Like J' here. It's apparently an ode to a silver-haired guitar hero and it's still in touch with the close-miked, intimacy of the best bits of the debut, only now it's more fully-realised and tinged with glockenspiel, accordion and sadness respectively. It's quite lovely actually and the string-assisted end coda brings it beautifully to fruition.
VERTIGO SMYTH I know less of, but I'm very happy to make his acquaintance here. If I used the tern 'enigmatic' in relation to 'Old Like J', I should perhaps have held it back for Mr. Smyth, who apparently hails from County Clare and is an Aries, but gives little else away on his website.
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That's fine. There's always room for enigmas, even in built-up areas and Vertigo's 'Armada Song' is an absolute gem. He can be found executing a fine acoustic 'ukelele' version complete with whistling solo on his website but the fully-realised version of the song is especially resonant. It's a wonderfully vivid, orchestrally-inclined tale, choosing the disastrous Spanish armada as a lasting example of the power-thirsty failure of Man ("that whole Armada thing was not a good idea/ lost to a man somewhere off Cape Clear"), is impressively rich of vocal and keeps that all-imporatant whistling solo gloriously intact.
Two fab new slivers of excitement under one roof then. Well done Out On A Limb. It's a pleasure to have you back on W&H's radar.
Windings on Myspace
Out On A Limb Records online
Vertigo Smyth online
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