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secret fireworks

a music blog with a northern irish twist

 

conor mason (free album of the week)

Once again, welcome to the free 3060119192_18c8dc1fb6[1]album of the week post. This week’s offering is the debut album of Conor Mason, a wonderful songwriter originally from Derry that currently resides in Glasgow. “Let It Unfold” documents the first tentative steps of Mason towards musical brilliance.


Conor is a singer songwriter in the true sense of the word- on this album he doesn’t give into the temptation of just hammering out a few chords and singing along. Every song has a clearly sculpted melody and structure that includes bass and lead guitar as well as a pretty acoustic guitar line. With the drum machine and the desire to mess things up a little the comparisons to David Kitt are pretty darn obvious, but in some respects he manages to outKitt the Kittster.

The vocals are restrained and quiet, rather like the shy guy at a party instead of the boisterous shouts of the typical singer songwriter (Damien Rice, I’m looking at you). The lyrics can be lacking at times but apart from this, you can safely mention Elliott Smith and Conor Mason in the same breath: a wonderful ear for catchy and memorable tunes, lovely harmonies and a desire for complex songs. The gorgeous waltz that is “Nothing To Say” sticks in your head- there’s trumpets, a repetitive drum beat, lovely, unassuming vocals (with half hearted lyrics) and a wonderful guitar part. It wouldn’t be out of place on XO: indeed, it wouldn’t be out of place in Grey’s Anatomy.

“Let it Unfold”, the title track, slows things down a bit. A repeating guitar line, backing vocals that are reminiscent of Bon Iver and something unmistakeably wonderful that captivates the listener. Mason doesn’t waste words: indeed the chorus consists of the words “let it unfold, let it unfold” repeated over and over again, and it’s stunning.

There really isn’t a filler track on this album. Admittedly, it’s more of a demo than a properly produced album and it does show at times. However, the whole lo fi thing makes “Let it Unfold” just a teeny bit more intimate, especially on tracks such as “Save A Line” that could so easily be over produced. A great debut that promises a lot more.

Download album

Download Let It Unfold (right click, save as)

Download Save A Line (right click, save as)

Download Nothing To Say (right click, save as)


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