Johnny Duhan: Winter

Irish singer-songwriter Johnny Duhan's new album may not impact on the generation of music fan that counts Miley Cyrus as a valid cultural touchstone, but the insights on offer here would be beneficial to them, should they ever choose to listen. By this stage, Duhan is a journeyman songwriter who cares little for much except, perhaps, some level of audience. Barely heard on Irish radio and rarely covered in the national media, he has survived creatively through doggedness and faith. So it goes – Winter is a fine set of songs ("deliberately kept as bare as the leafless trees in Barna woods in December" says a dry note on the CD sleeve) that act as a metaphor for the ageing process and all of its complications (as well as, Duhan reveals, some compensations). Simplistic in style, substantial in delivery: sometimes that's all you need to do to score direct hits. johnnyduhan.com
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