Drowning in the Shallow

Description

Drowning in the Shallow is a studio album by the Irish singer and songwriter Andy Flannagan (formerly of YFC’s itinerant band TVB), released on Downwardly Mobile Music in June 2012.

The London-based Irish singer/songwriter has been around a long while though ‘Drowning In The Shallow’ is Andy’s first new recording since 2004’s ‘Son’. I should report right away that this is a near perfect album – insightful and challenging lyrics, infectious melodies, warm, confident, clear and committed singing, tasteful musical accompaniment and gorgeous harmony vocals. I was hooked on the album right from the opening title track, a reflection on the downside of playing safe – “Failure is my fear/ and caution is my call/ But the surest way to sink/ is when you don’t move at all” – shades of St Peter on the lake. «The Reason» follows with a reminder of how we can overcomplicate and miss the simple things – “Will you stop looking for clue?/ This is no mystery/ Act justly, love mercy, walk/ humbly with your God.” This track is the most catchy and commercial on the album, you might find yourself humming it after only a listen or two. Other song titles reflect the album’s themes of relationships, brokenness, humanity, pain, desire, shallowness – «Healing», «Addictions», «Fragile», «Whole». These are handled sensitively, with strands of Christian faith blended subtly – for example, in «I Will Not Be Leaving», a reflection on a boy he met in an orphanage in Kampala, he finishes on a metaphorical note – “We need an army/ To storm this front/ To reach for the broken/ And touch the finger of God”. Though every intimate word is crystal clear, there is a lyric booklet with Flanagan’s illuminating commentary on the songs. [Brendan O’Regan, Cross Rhythms, July 2012]

> iTunes

CD tracklist:

01. Drowning in the Shallow – 6:00
02. The Reason – 4:07
03. Pieces of April – 5:47
04. Ego – 3:51
05. Seven Storeys – 3:57
06. This Poet – 2:59
07. Healing – 3:43
08. Addictions – 3:39
09. I Will Not Be Leaving – 4:20
10. Fragile – 4:37
11. Whole – 3:52
12. Fall – 5:21

Note: There is also an accompanying book and ebook; Notes from the Shallow End is the book to go with the album – the stories behind, beyond and between the songs on the album Drowning in the Shallow.

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