COLM LYNCH

BALCONYTV.COM 11/12/2007 PRESENTED BY PAULINE FREEMAN Colm Lynch is the latest Dublin-based troubadour to try his hand at reviving a once popular niche. Having started out playing acoustic sessions around his native city, he has slowly moved up the ranks by playing at bigger venues and attracting media exposure. A number of impressive EP’s led to a management contract and a publishing deal before being ushered into a studio to record an album’s worth of material. He actually did better than by recording the eleven tracks twice: once in their raw electric form, and once as stripped down numbers. The acoustic versions come on a bonus disc that offers the listener a welcome variation to the high-energy originals. Another welcome inclusion on this superb debut is three tracks that are old favourites for anyone familiar with Lynch’s work. Many musicians could have opted to disregard the older tunes, but he has stuck by songs like Why Must I Apologize? and opening track Lucinda .The pacing of the album is full-blooded and played through a high tempo, a reminder of a young Weller. This is all fuelled by Lynch’s vocal capabilities, where he manages to have the listener hanging on his every word. Whether he approaches a song with wild abandon (Two Bullets & A Gun) or tentatively gets his message across (Sophie), he is always using a certain vocal style that differs slightly throughout the album. There are backing vocals present, and guitars & percussion aiding his escapade, but it …