Seamus O’Muineachain – Cloves – Album Review by Killian Laher

Seamus O’Muineachain is a young Irish composer from Belmullet.  Cloves is his second album, and it’s a thing of delicate beauty.  Using piano, keyboards and loops , O’Muineachain has crafted ten relatively brief instrumentals.  Tracks like Sometimes We Fly, Forest Frost and Radaitheora are reminiscent of the brighter side Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’ soundtrack work.  Gom belies its title to turn out to be one of the prettier tracks here, with simple piano loops overlaying each other to create something of a symphonic effect.  The City From Her Bedroom is a sweeping, evocative track which would compare well with the likes of Johann Johannson in terms of creating an otherworldly effect.  It’s more an album to play on bright winter mornings, than in these lazy summer days, with the piano soaring over gentle washes of keyboard.

So really nice stuff then, from a guy who will surely start to receive more attention than he has to date.  It’s available here. 

Track List –

1. Dusks
2. Sometimes We Fly
3. Gom
4. Interval for Avril
5. The City From Her Bedroom
6. Forest Frost
7. Moonfire
8. Radaitheora
9. Nightdreaming
10. Dawns

Dawns: