Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

It's a tough ol' shift, that of a singer-songwriter. Sitting in the corner of a bar, competing with chitter and clinking coffee cups with people only stopping for polite applause. That's what Lurgan's Ciaran Lavery was faced with in the Black Box when he launched his EP, 'You Will Be A Stranger Now'.

But he faced it down well and gave, for those who were listening, an hour of soulful acoustic tuneage as good as you'll hear from anyone ploughing that furrow.

As a frontman, Ciaran has confidence without exuberance. And one thing that was striking was his confidence to leave space for silence in his songs. Despite struggling with the background noise he never felt that he had to compete and was self-assured enough to allow a chord to ring out into the ether and not hit the guitar harder to vie for attention amidst the cafe's bustle - which is just as well because the songs are gentle, affecting and all the better for their scant instrumentation.

Standout tracks on the night include one of the EP's highlights 'Waters Flow'. It looked for a while like our protagonist had forgotten how it went, but once he'd gotten into it he gave us a treat and a little reminder that simple songs are often the best.

There isn't much in the way of whimsy here. Ciaran talks of his upcoming birthday and feeling older. He sings of the lengths he'd go to in order to see a love he is missing. He also takes one of Bob Dylan's more upbeat numbers, 'I Want You' and gives it a minor key twist - perhaps more reflective of the lyrics but he definitely makes it his own.

It's really not doom and gloom at all though. Ciaran's songs usually have a positive conclusion and an acknowledgement that despite a bit of struggle and heartache, things usually work out for the best in the end and he makes you feel that the hardships are worth it.
'Call Me Back' is a great example of such a song where he wants to tell someone that in times of hardship to think of him - just give him a call. There's always someone who loves you.

His voice belies his years and has the character of someone twice his age and that had lived twice as much. He's also confident enough for some mid-song conversation when most people would have felt like they were banging their head against a brick wall with an audience more interested in their lattes and rollies.

All in all, despite a tough yet polite enough crowd Ciaran delivered a great performance and one that gave this reviewer the assurance that there's little better than good songs well sung.

Owen McNulty