Barry McCormack may claim that his sixth album is a dramatic departure from his previous fare, but that's not entirely true. The Dubliner's knack for storytelling remains as prominent in this collection as ever, the same smattering of idiomatic references and canny observations strewn through The Back of the Pipes ("young ones in their onesies"), The Chinese Barman and A Long Way Away.
Those stories are quite enjoyable, although their delivery is a little one-note on occasion, with McCormack’s cap doffed a little too deferentially to Nick Cave’s pronounced diction throughout.
Still, the combination of stately, subtle brass and strings, folk-oriented banjo and acoustic guitar, and the brooding shimmer of electric instrumentation makes a robust backdrop for his mostly engaging narrative.
