Niall Cash pictured with his band at the launch of his EP ‘Frames Have Cracked’ in the Wexford Arts Centre. (l to r)- Darra Doyle, Niall Cash, Conor Lyions, Saoirse Kavanagh, Seany O’Brien, Jake Richardson. Pic: Jim Campbell
20-YEAR-OLD singer-songwriter Niall Cash enjoyed a very successful launch of his first EP ‘Frames Have Cracked’ at the Arts Centre recently.
The young song-writing student took the stage along with five other band members – all college friends – to give the crowd a taste of the four tracks on the CD and also some of his other songs.
And there is certainly no question as to the talent that this young musician possesses. From catchy upbeat anthem-like tracks to the softer and more soulful melodies and lyrics of tracks like ‘Go South’ or ‘Love Like Mine’, here is a musician with a maturity that you don’t expect from someone his age.
There is a gentle soulfulness to the aforementioned tracks, love songs, with poetic lyrics such as ‘I try every day to improve the worst of me for the best of you’.
I have to confess that I was granted a sneak preview of the EP prior to its release and found myself listening to it regularly in the car but there is a freshness to the tracks that, while emulating other musicians of his genre, means that they don’t lose their impact on repeat hearings.
Counting The Coronas, Damien Rice and Ben Howard among his influences, you can clearly hear them throughout his music, and one particular song ‘Alright’ could have come straight from a Ben Howard album.
Surrounded by a band of exceptional musicians, Niall Cash is certainly one to watch for the future.
Earlier in the evening, the crowd also enjoyed a performance by Wexford three-piece, The Gallivants, a band of similar soundings with a touch more Mumford and Sons or The Lumineers thrown into the mix.
Their a cappella rendition of ‘The Oul’ Triangle’ was wonderfully emotive and showed off the talent of the three outstanding singers while their parting number, a self-penned song named ‘Escape Tonight’ was upbeat, uplifting and enthusiastically catchy.
This is another Wexford band with great talent and a very bright future.
Niall Cash followed up his Wexford gig with a launch night in the Workman’s Club in Dublin. His EP is available on iTunes.
