Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Art is at its best when it inspires other artists as well as the general public to be greater than they thought they could be. A poem that stimulates the writer to take on the length of a novel, the painting that arouses the passion of the film maker, and the boldness of music which has caught the meaning and fire of the enthusiastic sculpture, all contain the seeking out of mystery and explaining in greater detail what the world can be.
It is a question though of how many of us could have the discipline to sit and create art every day, not just put down a line on a piece of paper but to construct a whole world, to move an audience with the same degree of enthusiasm to pick up a brush as they have been aroused to do anything else that day; very few of us can stick to the art day in day out, to breathe it in 365 days a year.
It is though, a project that comes from the depths of two souls, Scottish Author James Robertson who wrote a short story every day for a year in 2013 and the man who picked up the mantle in response, a collection of songs that followed in the art of the story-teller and which caused a collaboration in absentia which the audience didn’t know they needed, but which was perfectly in tune with the deep sense of lyricism required.
Aidan O’ Rourke’s 365: Volume One was blessed example of how beautiful music is when placed alongside another medium, already a bounty of sheer depth, when placed in conjunction with a heart that speaks the language, it can be astounding. It is to the second volume of the heart-breaking harmonies and constructive beats that Mr. O’ Rourke is joined by the phenomenally talented Kit Downes on harmonium and piano and one which sees the deep thought behind the project come alive as a ritual in pursuit of the sensual and the addictive.
Across musical exploits such as The Film Was Preceded By A Warning That It Contained Moderate Violence, I Met Him Only Once, Bill Was Already At His Window, The Girl Climbed The Stairs To Bed And I Was Riding On A Greyhound Bus, Seeking Some Place To Hide the touch of guidance is readily enjoyed, the act of stimulation takes hold, it injects a reason in the listener to see beyond the dead end possibility, and onwards to a place of the creative easel, ready to paint their own scenes of galvanised fire.
A remarkable album, 365: Volume Two is an immersion of souls exciting each other to the point of artistic desire.
Aidan O’ Rourke releases 365: Volume Two on 9th August via Reveal Records.
Ian D. Hall