Niamh Regan – In the Meantime
[Self-Release]
Galwegian singer-songwriter Niamh Regan released her critically-acclaimed debut Hemet in 2020, earning Album of the Year nominations from both the RTE Folk Awards and the Choice Music Prize. Regan returns with the promise of a new album in the works and, for now, the aptly-titled EP In the Meantime.
Opener Late Nights feels like a chilled-out companion piece to Hemet’s Ode to Youth. Regan’s idiosyncratic vocal style shines over a slightly more uptempo beat and the orchestration of the track is gorgeous, with an understated horn hook that gently takes up residence in your ear.
This flows smoothly into Love You Senseless, a fine example of the ‘happy sad song’, where Alex Borwick’s sparkling production contrasts nicely with Regan’s intimate lyrics detailing the frustration of loving someone who’s struggling with demons you can’t help them fight.
Happy Again takes us back to more familiar folk territory, with plaintive guitar plucking building to an anthemic chorus which almost sounds triumphant, until you realise that Regan is asking someone, “Oh how did you go / Days upon weeks without talking to me?” Things wrap up with Winter in Eden, a shimmering duet with Ciaran Lavery that’s weird in all the right ways; the melody never goes exactly where you think it will, and Borwick strikes again with some flickering flute sounds and plucked strings that elevate the more traditionally folky elements of the track.
In the Meantime is captivating, both as a standalone work and a preview of Regan’s next full-length release.
Words: Joe Joyce
