Rory Gillanders is an alternative/indie/acoustic rock singer-songwriter and musician from Dublin, Ireland who cites his influences as Noel Gallagher, Springsteen, Dylan and Ryan Adams. Today I’ll be reviewing his EP ‘Waiting’ which was released November 2nd 2018, accompanying him on the EP is Stephen Gillanders on piano and Sam Thomas on percussion (he also produced the EP).
‘Waiting’ opens with some acoustic guitar and merges with the vocals, Rory Gillanders is an exceptionally talented singer, and he really brings his A game to this first track. Honestly though, this is one of those tracks you could just listen to on repeat, it’s deceptively simple, and you just kind of get lost in it.
‘(I Wanna Be) A Free Man’ is a little slower off the bat, but it still has that barely contained wash of emotions that erupt out as you listen to the track. I’ve always liked slower tracks like this, it’s good thinking music, the type that enhances a moment rather than defining it, by which I mean you aren’t happy or sad just because the song is happy or sad, because with songs like this, it instead makes you more of what you are already feeling rather than deciding for you.
‘Enemy Lines’ just feels a little different, the style of guitar playing just sounds a little heavier, and it works well, I usually hesitate to compare artists, but feel more comfortable because he has listed them as an influence, but I get a little bit of a Noel Gallagher feel from this track. Nothing too distinct, but a clear energy in common, which is for sure a compliment.
‘Save Me from Myself’ is a good closer to this EP, it’s not explosive in energy, but it’s certainly filled with a lot, and again I have to mention how talented a vocalist Rory truly is, I was blown away by his performance in this song. It was very close, between this and ‘‘(I Wanna Be) A Free Man’ but I think this track scoops the top slot for my personal favourite on the EP. I think it did that because it had all the elements that made the previous tracks so good, but just added that little bit more, including the gentle piano chords, which added a whole lot despite being subtle compared to other elements in the instrumental backing.
So that’s what I thought of Rory Gillanders EP and if you want to check that out for yourself then head on over to Apple Music. While you’re at it make sure and support the artist by following them on Facebook and Twitter.
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