Cormac O Caoimh - Swim Crawl Walk Run
Cork's Cormac O Caoimh has released five albums to date, his reputation growing with each one. His latest offering Swim Crawl Walk Run follows up his previous release Shiny Silvery Things from 2017 (we reviewed the album here). O Caoimh had reservations at first about releasing the album during the pandemic but thanks to the presale option on Bandcamp he was selling the album well already when the pandemic hit. Acknowledgments such as Album of the Week on RTÉ Radio 1, Marty Recommends on LYRIC FM , A- LE VILLAGE POP and KCLR FM are only a testament to O Caoimh's talent.
As an artist, you are developing with every album you put out, moving forward, trying different things, perhaps experimenting with themes, genres. Right from the first chords of the opening track you realize there's something different about Swim Crawl Walk Run from anything Cormac O Caoimh released before. What exactly is it? Everybody will make their own assessment after listening. We think the difference lies in the sound, it's full and a bit more modern yet the characteristic vocals and guitar playing are still there, easily recognizable. And the lyrics. Poetic and razor sharp. You will probably never hear anything too romantic from O Caoimh, it doesn't seem to be in his nature but nothing wrong with that at all.
Another sign of very well written, performed and produced album is that it flows. It seems nearly inappropriate trying to pick out highlights from an album like that but if we were we would pick Desire Lines (co-written with Mary Greene of Greenshine), I'm in Need, Pocketful of Doodlings and the title track Swim Crawl Walk Run. O Caoimh did the right thing by releasing the album in the middle of the pandemic. You may ask why. Because this album brings calm, slight melancholy but not depression. The songs are addictive - once you get into the world of Cormac O Caoimh it's impossible to get out and you just wanna fall deeper into the soothing melodies and words of a seasoned songsmith. Are you already wondering about album number 6? We are.