Andrew James O'Brien
Album: Songs For Searchers
Label: Western Songs
Tracks: 12
Website: http://www.andrewjamesobrien.com

Newfoundland's answer to Bruce Springsteen (Justin case it needed one) has dropped a genuinely life-affirming, smile-inducing set of songs that nobody knew they needed to hear. Rest assured though, you do.

House On Fire might just be the greatest song to your loved one you've never heard and comes laced with devotional lines that would rewrite the rules of romance were they ever to appear in greetings cards and on teddy bears - "she spends time like a pay cheque".

The confessional City Song is an everyman love song to a home town and the kind of unrestrained sense of homecoming that we love but can get us all into trouble if it's allowed to. The charming Thank You puts the case for gratitude and the advent of spring, while All These Things adds a simple lyrical cleverness that recalls Damon Gough's occasional footsie with twee.

Songs For Searchers gets under your skin and makes itself very welcome indeed. Rock and pop collide with more traditional musical influences, acoustic and electric collide as songs flit between coffee and whisky for fuel. All of which adds up to ample proof that O'Brien has the melodic, creative and lyrical chops to keep his music sound fresh for a very long time indeed.

Nick Churchill
www.thegranvillechambers.co.uk