Reviews
for 'earthquakes start with little cracks'
English translation of Rock n'Folk Dec. 2008 review of earthquakes
Sometimes it's difficult to discover truly refined and shining masterpieces which ,amid a proliferation of bland releases, .find their own way without a distributor's help
So do you know Paul Tiernan, this Irishman who presently lives in France? Some may remember that he accompanied Donovan. Others, even scarcer, may remember that he is probably one of the best European singer-songwriters. Gifted with a magic voice, silky and raspy just when needed , he also is a fine guitarist.
Most notably he knows how to compose and sing splendid and melancholic melodies and never lapses into vapidity or self-pity, he strikes a delightful balance between the blues, folk and jazz with a dash of pop. In 2002, on the album "God knows I love a Happy Ending", titles like "What Can Never Be" shine and "18" is the most beautiful song ever written about adolescence. After "Belle" in 2005 "Earthquakes Start With Little Cracks" completes this splendid trilogy.
The opening song, "Breakfast in Bed" is another gem, a reverie, saturated with bittersweet nostalgia which never leaves the listener. Each track has its own character, its own atmosphere/mood and own charm, sometimes more jazzy with the presence of double-bass player John Lester and a discreet saxophone ("Jimmy's Song"), joyfully folk and ironic ("Skinny") or simply incomparable ("Panic Blues", "Home, Sweet, Home").
Philippe Thieyre
Irish Mail on Sunday by Danny McElhinney 22/2/09-
4/5 stars:
"Paul Tiernan has been doing well with his band Interference, but has excelled since going solo.
He now lives in France where he has already been called 'one of the best European songwriters by Rock n Folk Magazine.
Tiernan keeps things simple but not simplistic. He can be compared to James Taylor and Paul Simon, and like Simon, he plays many of the instruments here.
The title tracks, with great backing vocals by Jessie Kennedy, is immediately impressive.
Those Regrets has a beautiful aching quality all of its own. Panic Blues broods and eventually burrows its way in to your soul as does this entire album.
He is lauded in some quarters to be sure, but his upcoming nationwide tour and this very fine album should see him get the much wider acclaim he deserves."
Hot Press review Patrick Freyne 3/5 stars
We just about buy this pop n'soul concoction There's something about this record that stops it being just another Americanised Irish folkie flogging an acoustic guitar to death. It could be the fact he seems to be using his "axe" as accompaniment for proper folky, pop n'soul songwriting rather than as an excuse to foist unfinished poems on the world.
It could also be that there's a warmth to the production and delivery that drains it of the usual plagiaristic cynicism, and there's even judicious and unflashy use of sax, banjos, strings, slide guitar and glockenspiel to distract me when I get suspicious. So even though a couple of the melodies are naggingly familiar, I just about buy the idea that Paul Tiernan is the real deal.
Irish Times review Lauren Murphy 3/5 stars 13th March 2009 -
Is it a sign of the times when Irish singer-songwriters up sticks and relocate to Europe? Cork Native Paul Tiernan did just that, emigrating to France after enjoying minor success as a jobbing guitarist and member of little-know band Interference.
His third solo album displays a musician rich in experience, proficient in songwriting but lacking any real originality. Finger plucked acoustic numbers are the order of the day, occasionally enhanced by lap steel guitar, strings, saxophone, and mellow female backing vocals. Tiernan's voice is a lovely semi-rasp, but rarely lifts itself above the treetops. A current of soul (Skinny, Panic Blues) intermittently runs through the dominant folk flavour but, overall, this is an album that'll warm your toes rather than knock your socks off
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