Ryan Vail - For Every Silence: drifting beautifully in the right direction

For Every Silence is proof positive that taking your time is an attribute well worth chewing over.

Derryman Ryan Vail’s earlier musical moves were always engaging, but lacked a killer touch and distinctive edge.

His Sea Legs collaboration with Ciaran Lavery was a step in a more compelling direction, and For Every Silence continues this trajectory. Vail's strengths as a producer and composer are about matching emotions with textures and that's to the fore on this debut album. An antique family piano informed the drift of the album and you can hear some of its ghostly stories from the past unwind throughout.

It's an album with a great sense of its own bearings: be it the spooked broodiness of 1927 or the beautifully embellished vocals of Eoin O'Callaghan on Above the White Wash, Vail and co steer the songs along the right path.facebook.com/ryanvailmusic