Not, we have to point out immediately, a song about the part of Ireland under direct control of the English Government in the late Middle Ages / Early Modern period. No – that would be a song unlikely to be described as “ a fuzzy, sticky, feel good song about feeling strange” which is exactly how Declan O’Donovan does describe it. It’s a song – he adds – that “asks why we’re here and where we’re going, and offers a sparring partner to anyone that’s wrestling with big, bloated questions that don’t have an answer.”
Declan O’Donovan is a singer-songwriter from Whitehorse (the place, not the band) in Canada. ‘Within the Pale‘ is from his third album ‘Amok‘ which, within the baroque psychedlia of the music is actually a meditation on losing track of time, as O’Donovan explains it is “a pedestrian and profound thing to do. We all lose track of time, get lost in time, struggle with our places in the world. ‘Amok’ recognizes the miraculousness and mundanity of existence.”
‘Amok’ is set for release on April 14th 2023.
