Producer, Singer and multi-instrumentalist Adam Garrett has long been a part of Ireland’s ever-growing creative community. Most commonly cited as a producer following his work on the Choice Music Prize nominated album ‘All The Leaves Are Falling’ starring Nealo, as well as his collaborations with the likes of Uly, Eve Belle, and Molly Sterling to name but a few. Previous to that, he was a member of the Dublin creative collective INNRSPACE, and has been producing and releasing his own work since 2019’s ‘On/Off’. Three years later, the time has come for Garrett to release his debut EP, which brings us nicely on the 2021’s Casual.
Casual is a 4-track project thematically centred around the events of one night pre-lockdown which, in Garrett’s own words, “ended months of indecision and confusion”. As a whole, the project is doused in disco and early ’80s personality. It kicks off with Stung, a track reminiscent of some of Tame Impala’s best work. It opens with a delicate piano line before quickly picking up and becoming one of the project’s most rhythmically enchanting selections.
Don’t Keep Up is funk to the core, with jumping guitars, breakneck percussion and oozing with style throughout. Garrett’s vocals float seamlessly above, with a beautiful organ solo pulling the track to a close.
In comparison, What Feeling? is a far more laid-back affair, with distorted guitar kicking things off before faded vocals calmly take over. Like a daydream, Garrett’s vocals drift in and out from the background, as he questions the situation in which he finds himself. The shortest track on the project, coming in at just under three minutes, it’s a calm break from form, offering a moment of solitude from the party surrounding it.
The project comes to a close with its title track, Casual. The scene is set of a house party (remember those?) as chattering drifts to the fore before the music takes hold. One of the strongest tracks on the project, it offers the best examples of Garrett’s songwriting nous. Once more, reminiscent of a track that would soundtrack a Ryan Gosling movie; it’s the perfect soundtrack for a drive through the darkened streets of ’80s L.A.
Garrett revealed in the past that the project was written free-form, that the instrumentation was complete before vocals and lead instrumentals were added in the final month prior to the release. With that in mind, and Garrett’s admittance that the focus was very much on the melody, the project is pulled off with aplomb. Captivating and timeless, it’s the perfect project with which to introduce yourself as an artist ready to take centre stage.