Lucky Bones - Matchstick Men
Lucky Bones aka Eamonn O'Connor, is a singer songwriter from Dublin. A chance encounter in Kansas in 2009 with producer Stephen Ceresia resulted in the first album the following year. On a return to Dublin O'Connor put a band together and started touring the new material. The band returned to Texas and recorded their second album there in 2012. The album was picked as "Album of the week" by Ireland's national broadcaster RTE Radio 1. The work on the third album, Matchstick Men, began in January 2017. Recorded and produced by Gavin Glass. Drawing on previous influences and the synth sound of The Cure and atmospheric feel of early albums by The Verve, Matchstick Men is finally here.
Eamonn O'Connor presents himself as a talented writer right from the start. The lines in the songs rhyme in a stunning way that makes you pay complete attention to what you hear.
The title track isn't as sad as we might think when we hear a song about a father who's no longer alive. Rather than that it celebrates all fathers and the legacy they pass to their children. The song is energetic and catchy.
Breathe is a song that showcases not only O'Connor as a singer with a great power but also the abilities of the guitarist Peter O'Grady creating another catchy tune that gets into your head and which you'll be humming all night.
There are upbeat tracks on the album as well as the quiet, even nostalgic ones - Gone, Neon Morgue. O'Connor's vocal is fragile and soft here. Gone deals with a topic that's been treated many times but differently in each case - time. Listening to Eamonn O'Connor makes you realize how delicate and precious time is and we should use it as much as possible while we still can.
Home To You is certainly one of the highlights on the album. Slightly romantic, tender song that makes you fall in love immediately. Fall in love with the words, with Eamonn's voice, with the idea of the song as such.
The full band takes the songs to a different dimension. Everything fits together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Perfect balance of all instruments and vocals.
This collection of songs also makes you realize Eamonn O'Connor can instantly fill the room no matter how big it is. You certainly wanna hear more from him than just these eight songs.