Galway alternative folk artist Niamh Regan embarks on a new, more political path with the lead single from her upcoming album ‘Come As You Are’, a bleak look into the realities of treatment and views of women in the 21st century.
From the get-go, it’s clear to see the reasoning behind Regan’s choice of ‘Madonna’ as a lead single. It’s familiar to those acquainted with her earlier work, and yet bends and evolves her sound in ways we haven’t heard from the artist, whose debut album was nominated for the Choice Music Prize 4 years ago. The track features the unmistakable intimacy of Regan’s comforting vocals, well-mixed over a warm, fuzzy acoustic guitar: here is Regan in utmost control. It’s rare to see an artist so confident in their sound, and yet as soon as the track begins I find myself sure in the knowledge that Regan doesn’t just know what she’s doing; she knows exactly what she wants to accomplish, too.
What stands out most during the length of ‘Madonna’, though, is the stunning complexity of Regan’s songwriting. ‘A Madonna-Whore complex, is it a thing?/ The night they found her dead’, she repeats throughout the track, a hugely potent look into the motives for violence against women and the prevalence of this topic in today’s age. This is commented on towards the end of the song, where she pens ‘Something to think about’, an almost humorous understatement of the massive philosophical questions she addresses here. This amount of wit squeezed into a track under 4 minutes long seems exclusive to only a select few artists, cementing Niamh Regan as one of the most promising songwriters of the generation.
‘Come As You Are’ is out 31st of May, and Niamh’s UK tour starts in Glasgow on April 2nd. Get tickets before it’s too late!
