I have been listening to this album for the past week (Take a Stand by Robb Murphy), letting it rest easy into the background of my evenings. Residing there unhinged, it has become a constant companion. With it's organic nature and easy flowing melodies throughout, it is an ambitiously driven fine debut from Irish Singer songwriter Robb Murphy.
The PR notes mention that it will evoke feelings akin to those that many experienced upon discovering Damien Rice and Tom Baxter, and rightly so; he certainly has an extra bit of oomph to that of his peers. It doesn't compare him to these artist's but more-so suggest that Murphy has that element of magic, which those artists seemed to possess. And it was correct in that. He is a wordsmith and diligent musician who has obviously invested much time in learning his craft rather well.
Murphy’s inimitable style derives from his background as a producer/engineer. Retaining all the hallmarks that separates him from his contemporaries in the singer-songwriter world – he has the creativity, the passion, the raw emotion and the haunting beauty that great singer songwriters are made of such as the aforementioned.
Murphy’s inimitable style derives from his background as a producer/engineer. Retaining all the hallmarks that separates him from his contemporaries in the singer-songwriter world – he has the creativity, the passion, the raw emotion and the haunting beauty that great singer songwriters are made of such as the aforementioned.
Love In Abundance, is simply stunning. With it's simple strummed guitar intro - instantly drawing you in accompanied by his soothing vocals. Naturalistic and stripped back is his winning formula here. This song is customised for American TV. (The OC, Pretty Little Liars, any similar drama on TV should have this song featured in it! If only for it justly romantic feel good vibes).
Other stand out tracks include On My Side & When Silence Comes, which veers away from the singer songwriter tagline and forms more of a 'band sound'. Its catchy and instrumentally solid. When he has the full band sound going on I can hear elements of Keane in there. Which isn't a bad thing at all. As a whole, the album is wonderfully simplistic and from start to finish it wins you over. A valiant debut, from a budding artist with a distinctive style and voice. Well worth checking out.
Teaming up with Robb Murphy; award winning short film director Patrick Maxwell of Headline Films captured the singer and his real life girlfriend over the course of a day in Belfast for the filmic adaptation of the single ‘On My Side.
