Music from the Heart

Kenan Flannery is a 21 year old award-winning songwriter from inner city Dublin. He began playing guitar from the young age of 5 years old and from the beginning fell in and out of love
with music but in 2016 he began to really commit himself to the artform and by years end he was awarded the Songwriter award at the Irish Youth Music Awards in the Aviva Stadium.
He went on to release two successful singles and play in some of the biggest venues across Dublin including Croke Park, Aviva Stadium, Smock Alley Theatre, The Helix Theatre,
Workman’s Club and The Sound House, just to name a few.  These past few months weren't easy for musicians and artists of all sorts and Kenan Flannery kept himself busy and recorded a 5 track EP with the intention to fill the need for music. Flannery had been working on a studio recorded EP to be released this summer and had a headline show planned. He also had a big show coming up in the Button Factory and a festival booking in Montana, USA. He threw himself into work and this is the result.

We have mentioned this fact a few times where it felt appropriate and in this case we have to mention it again - there is a reason why we don't intentionally compare artists we review to others but there are exceptions when the comparisons are inescapable. An in some ways, Kenan Flannery reminds us of David Keenan. Both are young storytellers from Ireland. But for us the resemblance doesn't lie much in the songwriting but more in the vocal tone and overall expression. The comparison may not come as a surprise to those familiar with Flannery as he considers Keenan one of his influences along with Johnny Cash or Passenger.

Fool for Gold is a melancholic ballad about chasing a love you will never catch. The picking guitar combined with an emotional vocal creates an evocative track. The title reminds us of the old days of the Gold fever, those daydreamers were also chasing something they could never have.

In Glory Days Flannery tries to pay an homeage to the country stars of the past. There is no doubt about him feeling comfortable in country music shoes, it suits his vocal and playing style and seems like he's a seasoned artist that has seen it all. Finding "glory days" can have many meanings, depending on one's experience and point of view. What we see in it is a search for that one thing that makes a person happy and a life worth living.

Rolling Stone is the only track on the EP that wasn’t recorded fully live, as the slide guitar, bassand harmonica were added after the acoustic guitar and vocals were recorded. This track is a true highlight of the EP, it captures the essence of the country music in its rawness and authenthicity. It's there the listener fully gets the impression Kenan Flannery is an old soul in a young body. Not living in the past but finding his true identity in the music influenced by the past. The song is about finding your true self.

Our Love is one of the first songs Flannery wrote during lockdown, taking inspiration from a personal experience. Honest lyrics deal with the well-known situation in a relationship, the love going on and off between two people. Such an universal theme that many people can relate to. Powerful strums of the guitar add the dynamic the songs is asking for.

"the more that you loved me the more I couldn't take"

The recording of the closing track I'll Love You Anyway was requested by some of Flannery's supporters because they liked the message the song was presenting. It's about seeing the cracks grow in a relationship but holding on for dear life eventhough both people involved know the end is near.