Gráinne Hunt - Lilacs
Info: A couple of weeks ago Monaghan singer-songwriter Gráinne Hunt released her debut album, Firing Pin, at The Chocolate Factory on Kings Inn Street in Dublin. She will play one more public live performance at Ernesto's Cafe in Rathmines today with Mark Geary before setting off for a five date tour in Switzerland.
Shortly after returning from opening for Glen Hansard with Mark Geary in Europe, Gráinne Hunt released her new mini album Firing Pin on October 23rd. The title track is the second single released off the album, the first single 'Lilacs' was released in August, reaching no.4 on the iTunes chart and gaining significant airplay on national radio. Gráinne has been regularly compared to Natalie Merchant, Dolores O'Riordan and Alison Moyet amongst others.
There's a strong and fulsome tone to Hunt's vocals which have a distinctive traditional and country sound, immediately noticeable from the albums title and opening track 'Firing Pin', a melodic and strident start to proceedings. It's not long into the album before we come across our first standout track, the wisely chose second single, 'Lilacs' (above), the mood is more solemn and musically it's filled with emotion, with gentle piano and haunting strings arching over Hunt's old world vocals, bordering on a traditional Irish sound.
Third track 'Chances' mixes pop leanings with the aforementioned country vibe, but quite contemporary and somewhat reminding me of English folk songstress KT Tunstall. On 'Low Tides' we're whisked off to the American mid-west, a wistful ballad and piece of song-writing from Hunt displaying the level of genuine personal investment she pours into her music, another strong point on Firing Pin without doubt. A short burst of energy then arrives on 'No Way I''d Go Down' cranking things up with lively electric guitar, a proper fun hoedown n' hootenanny to tap your foot to!
The mini-album closes with three live versions of 'Lilacs', 'Low Tides' and 'The Words of it All', the album version of which is reminiscent of late 60's British folk from the likes of Fairport Convention, bringing another layer of depth to the album overall. The live tracks are very well recorded and prove that Hunt does not just sound good courtesy of the recording studio whilst also providing an insight of what to expect at a live performance for those of us who have not had the pleasure just yet.
You can purchase both physical and digital copies of Firing Pin at the below links
Look / Like / Listen & Follow:
Website: http://grainnehunt.weebly.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/grainnehunt
