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For those who have watched the Irish music scene, Michael Brunnock, is recognized as a quiet man, who's made a big impact. A native of Ireland's, County Meath, (Pronounced Mead), he rose through the burgeoning ranks, fronting bands like “Little Palace” and “The Van Winkles”, each becoming the darlings of the Irish music press in the early to late 90's and following years.
Now a New York resident and live favorite in the East Village, Michael is set to release a brand new album “So I do” hot on the heels of last years well received, Budweiser sponsored, “Live at The Red Lion.”
An illustration of the reverance Michael Brunnock projects elict, shows in this quote, “...one of the strongest debut singles I've heard from any band, Irish or otherwise.” Taken from Hot Press Magazine, Ireland's premier music journal, on the release of “Beekeeper.” a song about his past life as a mathematics teacher.
Brunnock remembers clearly, the defining moment as a child, that set him on the path to a musical career. In his family's often packed kitchen, in front of an open fire at night, all assembled, were captivated by his 90-year-old grandfather (who’s name incidentally was Michael Brunnock) singing local ballads chronicling the heroics of Irish rebels during the Irish war of independence and before. The lofty goal of recreating such an energy took seed firmly with the youngest Michael Brunnock...
From here, influences as varied as Elvis, Planxty(Traditional Irish supergroup), Neil Young, GillianWelch, Dead Can Dance and AC/DC, have shaped Michael's earnest intelligence, into a mesmirizing body of work to date.
Comparisons to Neil Young and Cold Play are made, and may loosely describe his contempory acoustic folk-rock sound, but his themes are drawn from lifes paradoxes; conscience vs consiousness and internal beauty vs external image . The songs and particularly live performances, are very much his own.
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Indie Sounds Interview
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"So I do" reviews
Music Review: Michael Brunnock - So I Do
Monday, March 31st, 2008
By Natalie Herman
Originally published October 2007
One does not simply listen to a Michael Brunnock song – one experiences it. Michael Brunnock’s songs, while pleasingly smooth and unobtrusive, somehow refuse to remain “background music,” and they pull the listener in to their ephemeral existence. So it is with So I Do.
Mournful without being sad. Emotional without being “emo”. Evocative without being self-indulgent.
I first heard “Fallen Leaves,” about four months ago, and before the song was even complete, I knew that I had to become familiar with the entire music catalog of this artist whose name I did not yet know. More than a hundred listens later, “Fallen Leaves” is both completely ingrained in my mind and brand-new simultaneously. Each listen is as the first; the string solo employed in lieu of a bridge held me captive, and when the drums returned with brilliant force, I found myself struggling to catch the breath that I didn’t even realize I was holding for the past four measures.
Michael Brunnock’s performance is straight-forward and unassuming. However, don’t be fool enough to dismiss this artist as a simple countryman; his lyrics reveal an intelligent and well-educated man behind his gentle melodies. Listen carefully and you will hear literary allusions, complex metaphors, and well-placed puns along with political commentary and disdain for mindless militancy.
“Little Boy Blue,” perhaps the most political song in his repertoire, is also the most evocative. It employs strong imagery both lyrically and musically – one can almost picture the small orchestra backing him as he sings his complex simplicities.
“Dance to the Wind” is a beautiful piece which displays both Brunnock’s impressive vocal diversity and his imaginative lyric writing; the anthropomorphic song is told from the point of view of a wise old tree in a tale reminiscent of Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax.
Not to be dismissed as a minstrel, Brunnock pulls “Born Again” and “Niagara Falls” from up his sleeve, showing that he can rock with the best of them.
Jenna Nicholls’s backing vocals on “Man Overboard” and “Breastplate” both blend with and complement Brunnock’s voice seamlessly. Nicholls’s airy vocals at the end of the penultimate of the original tunes somehow punctuate the mood of the album.
Michael Brunnock revamps “Secret,” a powerful song from his days with Little Palace, to round out the CD, convincingly evidencing that he is fully capable as a solo artist.
One would be hard-pressed to find a more well-pieced collection of songs that satisfy both the spirit and the intellect. So I Do does so both humbly and almost with a shrug. Brunnock is not out to please anyone with his offering – it is clearly a labour of love.
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