coverart FRONT cdbaby 2“If it was never new, and it never gets old, then it’s a folk song.”

The lines that introduce the titular protagonist in the Cohen Brothers’ ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ could equally be applied to Limerick based singer-songwriter Peter O’Malley’s latest EP, ‘Night Time in Montreal’.

There is little new in O’Malley’s music. The guff voiced blues/folk singer crooning along to the tune of a few simplistic chords from an acoustic guitar is a well that has been thoroughly mined at this point, and by a lot more inventive people.

But in place of originality, O’Malley’s songs carry a certain authenticity. The motivation that drives the lyrics is more than finding a neat meter and few words that rhyme, it is a depiction of a reality that is at one familiar and revealing.

The weathered lilt of O’Malley’s voice alone holds a deep own emotive resonance. The sheer weight of age and mileage that is evident in every coarse breath of O’Malley’s voice lends the record a sense of authenticity that elevates an EP that otherwise treads steadfastly along a tried and tested folk/blues path.

The EP is a highly personal journey through poignant reminiscences of youth (Clare) and the bittersweet loneliness of somebody left behind by generation decimated by immigration (Night Time in Montreal). O’Malley’s lyrical themes may be as well-worn as his musical influences, but that doesn’t rob them of a certain power.

Although there is some experimentation with additional instrumentals and a backing band, most notably on the dark and lashing (but ultimately ineffective) The Secret Ground, O’Malley’s at his best when it’s just him and his old guitar.

The slow and patient build-up of Where Echoes End unfolds into a gloomy reflection on a lifetime of hardship. Lyrics like “Out past the fisherman who tied up his boat” and “The orphan dog waits at the mill,” may be the kind of veneration of the honest working-man’s struggle that somebody like Springsteen does a lot better than this, but O’Malley injects enough belief into his strained vocals that it’s hard to doubt the honesty behind what he has to say.

What ‘Night Time in Montreal’ gets right is a simple, honest expression of approaching old age and a modern world that is sometimes confusing and painful. The familiarity of the music on the EP should provide a certain solace, and its honesty a reassurance that the listener isn’t alone in feeling like this after all.