Dubliner Sue Rynhart’s first collection of songs, Crossings, was a blast of fresh air, a set of musical haiku that flew past the genre nets, borne only by the composer’s delicate voice and Dan Bodwell’s sympathetic double bass.
Three years later, Rynhart’s new songs continue the journey: frank, unclichéd lyrics and stark, skeletal arrangements make for songs that sound at once ancient and modern, with echoes of folk and early music, contemporary jazz and the avant garde, recalling Theo Bleckmann, Bjork and a hint of Joni Mitchell.
New elements, like documentary sound clips, the multi-tracking of her own voice, and the presence on three tracks of early music specialist Francesco Turrisi, add other layers, but the combination of strength and fragility that made the first record such a jewel is still there.
