HousePlants
Dry Goods
[Bone China Records]
Dry Goods is an album of growers but unfortunately, Daithi and Paul Noonan’s collaboration doesn’t blossom. Daithi’s instrumentals feel more reserved than his traditional violin fuelled club tracks. Opting for more neutral beats, the all too familiar feeling of loneliness (particularly in an pandemic context) pulls some of the album into a chokehold, sapping the core energy away.
This shifts the focus more towards Paul Noonan’s vocals that match the relaxed tone of the album. Noonan recalls early ‘00s Snow Patrol with his reserved tones but he doesn’t push any boundaries. Highs and lows are not a feature and without strong pulsating vocals to push the record to another height of heavenly collaboration – it falls flat.
More a meeting of friends than a meeting of minds, there are moments of fun as heard on Reveller and Companero. Electronic groove melodies induce some head bobbing and make earworms of cuts that don’t begin with a bang. This unexpected catchiness redeems Dry Goods, turning it from easy listen to a record that gets into your head and wins you over. Without crescendos or heightened emotive lyrics on the first listen, you can’t tell the wood from the trees on Daithi and Noonan’s collaborative debut.
Words: Sophia McDonald
Like this? Try these.
Daithi – L.O.S.S.
Snow Patrol – Final Straw
Editors – The Weight of you Love
