Roisin O, the Irish singer and songwriter, sister of Danny O’Reilly, the front man of The Coronas, and the daughter of Mary Black, Roisin has grown up deeply immersed in Irish music...She knows her stuff and what she likes.
Read more: The rise and rise of Irish singer songwriter Roisin O (VIDEOS)
IrishCentral asked her to share with us the music tracks she simply couldn’t live without.
Here are her choices:
Declan O'Rourke - "We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea" from his debut album "Since Kyabram"
I had just turned 16 when this album came out and completely fell in love with it. In my early teens I had been listening to more mainstream pop music like Destiny's Child and Justin Timberlake but also had a healthy dose of the music my parents listen to like Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Neil Young which I loved just as much.
"Since Kyabram" was probably the first modern folk album that I bought without the guidance of my parents. Declan's voice blew me away on that album. You can hear the full range of his velvet tones in "We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea," which ends in crescendo of strings and rolling acoustic guitar lead by Declan's soaring vocal.
Wallis Bird - "To My Bones" from "New Boots"
When I was 18 I was blown away by Wallis Birds debut album "Spoons." Her second album "New Boots" came out the summer I left for California. In my third year in college I decided I wanted to explore the world a bit and went on an exchange to San Jose State University. I took "New Boots" with me that August and didn't listen to the album until halfway through the first semester when I was quite homesick. "To My Bones" made me in part even more homesick with imagery of friends at home and lines like"My fortune is my home, my home and all I know" but at the same time its uplifting melody and "live life to the fullest" theme made me want to enjoy my own experiences as best I could and really got me out of a rut.
Bell X1 - "West Of Her Spine" from "Music in Mouth"
This amazing album first came out in 2003, but it wasn't until a year or two later that I stumbled across it in one of my brother’s old CD collections. It's a brilliant album that I had sort of forgotten about over the years until a friend played it for me when I was down in Dingle last week.
"West Of Her Spine" is this brilliant happy love song, with some really beautiful imagery of the person the singer loves and the place he loves being most; "See how her hair spills over, Like frayed ends of twine, All wild and wrapped around her, Like these wandering arms of mine, Well I hope they find a soft spot, Where I can lie for a while, Just south of her shoulder, And west of her spine."
The Coronas - "The Blind Will Lead The Blind" from "Closer To You"
I've loved The Coronas since their brilliant debut album "Heroes or Ghost." I considered listing "Heroes or Ghost" as my favorite song of theirs as I really think it is one of the best songs ever written, but instead I thought I'd list a lesser known one as I would love everyone to listen to both!
"The Blind Will Lead The Blind" is from their third album and it's a song that just catches me. It's not particularly poppy or upbeat, but has this rolling drum beat and beautiful bassline that catches your attention with a lyric that you really have to listen to over and over to decipher which alludes to a longing for something in the future.
Little Green Cars - "The Kitchen Floor" from "Absolute Zero"
Little Green Cars are the newest band on this list, but I feel they are just as worthy as the rest. Singer Fay O'Rourke's vocal on ''Kitchen Floor'' is breathtaking. Her delivery of the melody and lyrics are beyond emotional. Again the lyrics here are beautifully descriptive with lines like, "I'm just a cast you had removed when all the pain was over." In the chorus her vocal is joined by a wall of harmonies from her band mates that for me is just the best thing about this song and is what the band do best.
Listen to a playlist of Roisin O’s own work here:
* Originally published in 2014.
Read more: The rise and rise of Irish singer songwriter Roisin O (VIDEOS)
IrishCentral asked her to share with us the music tracks she simply couldn’t live without.
Here are her choices:
Declan O'Rourke - "We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea" from his debut album "Since Kyabram"
I had just turned 16 when this album came out and completely fell in love with it. In my early teens I had been listening to more mainstream pop music like Destiny's Child and Justin Timberlake but also had a healthy dose of the music my parents listen to like Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Neil Young which I loved just as much.
"Since Kyabram" was probably the first modern folk album that I bought without the guidance of my parents. Declan's voice blew me away on that album. You can hear the full range of his velvet tones in "We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea," which ends in crescendo of strings and rolling acoustic guitar lead by Declan's soaring vocal.
Wallis Bird - "To My Bones" from "New Boots"
When I was 18 I was blown away by Wallis Birds debut album "Spoons." Her second album "New Boots" came out the summer I left for California. In my third year in college I decided I wanted to explore the world a bit and went on an exchange to San Jose State University. I took "New Boots" with me that August and didn't listen to the album until halfway through the first semester when I was quite homesick. "To My Bones" made me in part even more homesick with imagery of friends at home and lines like"My fortune is my home, my home and all I know" but at the same time its uplifting melody and "live life to the fullest" theme made me want to enjoy my own experiences as best I could and really got me out of a rut.
Bell X1 - "West Of Her Spine" from "Music in Mouth"
This amazing album first came out in 2003, but it wasn't until a year or two later that I stumbled across it in one of my brother’s old CD collections. It's a brilliant album that I had sort of forgotten about over the years until a friend played it for me when I was down in Dingle last week.
"West Of Her Spine" is this brilliant happy love song, with some really beautiful imagery of the person the singer loves and the place he loves being most; "See how her hair spills over, Like frayed ends of twine, All wild and wrapped around her, Like these wandering arms of mine, Well I hope they find a soft spot, Where I can lie for a while, Just south of her shoulder, And west of her spine."
The Coronas - "The Blind Will Lead The Blind" from "Closer To You"
I've loved The Coronas since their brilliant debut album "Heroes or Ghost." I considered listing "Heroes or Ghost" as my favorite song of theirs as I really think it is one of the best songs ever written, but instead I thought I'd list a lesser known one as I would love everyone to listen to both!
"The Blind Will Lead The Blind" is from their third album and it's a song that just catches me. It's not particularly poppy or upbeat, but has this rolling drum beat and beautiful bassline that catches your attention with a lyric that you really have to listen to over and over to decipher which alludes to a longing for something in the future.
Little Green Cars - "The Kitchen Floor" from "Absolute Zero"
Little Green Cars are the newest band on this list, but I feel they are just as worthy as the rest. Singer Fay O'Rourke's vocal on ''Kitchen Floor'' is breathtaking. Her delivery of the melody and lyrics are beyond emotional. Again the lyrics here are beautifully descriptive with lines like, "I'm just a cast you had removed when all the pain was over." In the chorus her vocal is joined by a wall of harmonies from her band mates that for me is just the best thing about this song and is what the band do best.
Listen to a playlist of Roisin O’s own work here:
* Originally published in 2014.
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