Size2Shoes‘Size2Shoes’
(Self released)
THE SONS of world famous Irish composer Professor Mícheál O'Súilleabháin and spiritual singer Nóirín Ní Riain were always bound to have musical talent in spades, but Eoin and Mícheál O'Súilleabháin, performing under the name Size2Shoes, certainly have the potential to stand out on their own merits.
Although they launched their debut album locally several months ago, they are only now rolling it out on a national basis.
In doing so, and with the benefit of regular gigs around the country, this musical duo have reached a level of maturity with an act they have been plugging around Limerick for several years.
The evolution of Size2Shoes has been steady, moving from raw, humorous and over-the-top double act, to polished, still humorous over-the-top double act, but yet they have perfected the art of peppering both their recordings and live performances with equal dashes of musical comedy and spine-tingling moments of clarity, when the audience/listener is forced to sit in rapt attention.
The album contains a few gems, notably the upbeat opener Take it Easy, the graceful Light in the Dark and the title track Size2Shoes. A delightful reworking of traditional favourite The Parting Glass is also superb.
The duo combine elements of Simon and Garfunkel, dashes of the Doobie Brothers and The Eagles with a distinct Irishness, indeed a sense of being from Limerick, which merely adds to their appeal.
Mícheál - better known as Moley - holds a MA in Rap Performance and rap, hip-hop and his significant beatboxing abilities make regular appearances throughout the album; this ability, coupled with the brothers’ entwining and often mesmerising vocals, being their secret weapons. Where others have failed to entrap the energy that comes from live gigs in the studio - the brothers have largely succeeded.
Their endearing nature can tend to become ever so slightly cloying and they could do with developing a slightly harder edge but, to the most part, this album succeeds with what it sets out to do.
We look forward to their next album and to the further development of this most musical of local acts.
RATING 3/5
* Size2Shoes play in Shannon Rowing Club this Saturday night, November 21, doors 9pm.
No comments:
Post a Comment