Review: Damien Rice’s O
Chad Lennon
August 2005
Some of you may have heard the musings of this Dublin musician but I doubt it goes beyond that one song you heard in the trailer for Closer. Rest assured, people of the world, there lie a great many songs on his latest album.
Normally I don’t listen to folk music, as it normally features wailing, questionable musical talent, and lyrics that puzzle the mind. We’ve jokingly whipped up a few “folk songs” ourselves here at Luceo, all of which are too abysmal for human ears. Damien however has something called talent (a quality that most folk singers sorely lack) and as such laid down some moving tracks on O. Some of my personal favorites, aside from the aforementioned movie trailer fodder, are “Volcano” and “Amie.” The first of these has a cool kind of rhythm you might expect to hear in your local coffee joint or lounge, and his female accompaniment has the sort of soft husky voice reminiscent of Fiona Apple. On “Amie,” however, the tone is entirely different—a strange sort of romantic ballad. “Eskimo,” the last track on the album, features not one but two hidden songs, and is a strange animal indeed. It starts out simple enough, but then grows into this ridiculously over-the-top operatic number. Other than this minor idiosyncrasy, the album is a thoroughly enjoyable listen. I give it eight out of ten.
Copyright © 2008 
Review: Damien Rice’s O
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