Miriam Donohue.
PHOTO: ABI DENNISTON
By Colleen Taylor
It might be said that Galway produces the greatest and latest in trad music and Dublin the freshest in Irish rock, pop, and electro. But singer-songwriter Miriam Donohue offers the perfect meeting point between the two cities and their two music scenes. A couple months ago Galway-born, Dublin-based young singer debuted her first studio album, which blends acoustic, jazz, and indie with folk and traditional influences. Her album “Paperscapes” brings her Galway roots and her Dublin creative influences together into one cohesive sound.
Donohue’s voice sounds fresh and current, reminiscent of Norah Jones when she first made a name for herself and her vocal style in the early 2000s. Likewise, Donohue’s voice is soft, whispery, easy and aerial. I wouldn’t say her voice commands the same attention as Jones or someone like Donohue’s contemporary Róisín O, who I wrote on last week, but it’s inherently intriguing. She invites further listening because you want to be able to characterize her style and impact. Her style is curious, difficult to fully understand, and that’s what makes it work.
“Paperscapes” is dreamlike—an album that might be compared to the film “La La Land.” One of my favorites is the track “Dollar Avenue,” not only for its gentle, jazz-like cadence, but also for its imagery. In the song, the singer describes walking down the streets of New York City and evokes all kinds of bizarre imagery, such as the Empire State Building bending over to meet her height. In this instance, her music has as much a visual impact as an audible one. Another favorite is “Nuts and Bones” for similar reasons—its evocative lyrics and imagery, its soft tempo. This song pares the trimmings down: it’s just Donohue’s voice, a xylophone, and interludes of soft flutes and acoustic guitar strings. Again, music made ethereal. Donohue is able to capture what the best and most curious of your good dreams might sound like when put to music. The best songs on this album blend a sprinkle of jazz with a touch of folk music. However, I will admit that all the songs sound pretty similar. That said, failure to distinguish from one song to the next furthers the album’s façade of imaginative, creative journey for its listener.
It’s worth pointing out that Donohue is still a rookie. She only came onto the Irish music scene last year in 2016. Her music is still in embryo, developing a streamlined, commercialized finish and a sense of self-definitive assuredness. However, given she is already making a name for herself at this early stage in her career, there is bound to be more from this young woman. In fact, she is already a fluid and popular music figure in Ireland. She’s played Electric Picnic, Body and Soul, and Dublin’s very best, Whelan’s. No doubt, she and her music will quickly garner confidence.
Colleen Taylor writes the Music Notes column each week in the Irish Echo.
