Whatcha' lookin' at?

Limerick singer-songwriter Terence Rowlands released his début album Beta digitally on September 17th. Refreshingly, the album arrived without the prerequisite media fanfare, but something tells me that Rowlands won’t have the luxury of a calm release for very long if this first offering is anything to go by.

Beta is nothing if not utterly heart-warming from start to finish. It is a labour of love as Rowlands states that;

“I was using mainly borrowed instruments and recording on a laptop that was kindly donated by my brother. It was recorded in stages around the country, in flats, houses and my brother’s garage. Because of time limits, changing locations and finance I played all instrumentation myself (bar 3 bass-lines) which of course meant recording each instrument separately.”

One might think that this epic journey would lead to an un-polished and unproduced sound from the album but the opposite is true. Rowlands proves himself to be a musician far beyond the measure of his years of experience as each track is beautifully executed and composed to perfection.

The album opens with Overplayed, a track which, interestingly, never could be overplayed. The track blends quirkily husky vocals with a delicately beautiful melody to create a track which sets the tone for the rest of the record. It is a gorgeous album opener which is heavily reminiscent of the early David Gray. The track makes way for second track Junkstore which alters the tone to a slightly more folk-based sound. The track is simple yet effective, one which has a lasting effect that you don’t notice at the time, but becomes apparent when you realise that you are humming the melody hours after the album has ended.

Something Unknown remains one of the most authentic tracks to have entered my ears in a couple of years. Something Unknown as a track is somewhat un-polished, but it actually benefits from that fact. It has a warm character and it is impossible to resist. With the onset of fourth track Zen, Rowland’s distinctive style has already been established. No mean feat for an artist who admits to having only begun song writing in 2002. Red Sunrise acts as an interlude and ups the ante on the tempo front. Rowlands certainly knows how to effectively lay out an album to create maximum enjoyment.
 

Stand-out tracks include My Unsung Song which is painful in all the right ways, and Untrue which is reminiscent of early Nirvana in its bitterness. His haunting and soaring falsetto is stunningly effective here. Winter’s Hollow is somehow infused with the chill of winter. I have no idea how he does it but Rowlands pulls it off beautifully.

Laughing at the Flightless Birds sounds almost like Lifehouse but, by the end, the track has become distinctively Rowlands. For All The Bells is a perfectly calm album closer. Epic in meaning and simple in melody, it is romantic and simple. Beta demands nothing of its listener, but gives everything. It is not to be missed.

I realise that I could have chosen a layout other than a track-by-track breakdown, but I felt that each track adds its own specific charm that cements the album as an absolute necessity for any music lover, if only for the smug knowledge that you were present at the start of a career which is destined to be one which will take Rowlands far.
 

At present the album is available for digital purchase and is also stocked in Zhavagos in Galway, if neither of those are your bag I would suggest that you harass your local store to start stocking it, after the first listen I’m certain that you won’t regret the effort.

Ciara O’Brien.