Northern Ireland singer-songwriter Ciara O’Neill is releasing her debut album, The Ebony Trail, this Saturday, March 5. I received an exclusive first listen to the album before the release date and now want to share my thoughts with you.

The album begins with the title track. The initial audio sounds as though someone is walking through a wooded area, with the crunching of leaves emanating from each footstep. This setting is soon complemented by a haunting acoustic guitar melody.  As the track evolves, the guitar is joined by an equally chilling piano most evident in the choruses and sporadic percussion hits during the verses. O’Neill’s seemingly distant vocal appropriately matches this vibe, as the lightness of her tone contrasts the heaviness of the instrumental and the lyrics.  Lines like “a lesson learned is a knowledge of one” and “second in time is a moment too few” show the mastery of O’Neill’s poetic skills. Moments of silence are incorporated in the tune, adding an element of suspense to the portrayal of loneliness and heartbreak.  “Dead, Black” is up next.  The mellow nature of the album continues, as the melody features a violin to exemplify the emotion within the piece. O’Neill is honest in admitting her personal needs, including being held and being loved, in order to escape the hell that she is trapped in. O’Neill wants a relationship, one where both parties can mutually share their feelings and depend upon one another for strength and encouragement. The instrumental further illustrates the vulnerability of the vocal, as the legato violin ebbs and flows with the severity of O’Neill’s voice.  “Ghosts”, the lead single from the album, follows.  In the words of O’Neill herself:

This is a haunting, atmospheric song dealing with the theme of loss. The ghosts of lost relationships and lost dreams follow us throughout our lives. It’s a bittersweet but hopeful song reminding us that the things we have lost in life have helped create the person we have become.

The acoustic guitar melody of the track is a bit lighter than what the listener has previously been exposed to.  An interesting layering vocal effect adds sweetness to O’Neill’s lyrics, and instrumental breaks bring back eerie influences.   The music video, created by Belfast animator Ashling Lindsay, experiments with the vibrancy of the track for a witty interpretation of the piece.

Next up is “Follow Me”. The lyrics open with the imagery of being a serpent, a classic inference to trickery and temptation. Militaristic percussion maintains throughout the piece, adding structure to the spooky melody. A male vocal serves as harmony to O’Neill’s deeper range and more textured tone, allowing the lyrics to be painted from the perspective of both genders.  The lyrics feature a variety of metaphors, all which personify a living thing in reference to a portion of O’Neill’s personality.  This technique enables O’Neill to describe the various sides to herself, some which may be unexpected, in order to illustrate how love and people can be deceiving.  One such example is “I’m a weed with my roots buried deep / you walk over me with your ignorant feet”. During the climax of the track, the violin becomes central to the melody.  An increasing scalular pattern played by the instrument borders on being abrasive, but contributes a creative tension among timbres that immediately startles the listener’s ears to attention. “Invent Me” follows. The instrumental introduction builds upon itself, beginning with a steady bass guitar rhythm that is joined by light finger picking from the acoustic guitar and heavy percussion hits. Over time, the violin is again incorporated to smooth out the melody.  The title of the piece gives a clue to the listener about it’s meaning.  O’Neill sings about recreating herself by having someone she loves tell her about her life, using “every detail except trouble and strife”. Since her story “has been torn, damaged in flight”, O’Neill requests a fictional representation of her life that is more beautiful and that is less painful than the one she is experiencing. The songwriting for this tune is phenomenal and showcases the melancholy nature displayed by the lead vocal.

“Primroses” is next.  The track starts off simply with just O’Neill’s voice.  The absence of an instrumental melody during the first verse allows the lead vocal to shine and set the character of the piece. By the second verse, the instruments are back in action. Although the violin and drums are necessary components of the melody, the inclusion of the piano allows for movement within the track. While this combination of instruments creates a sense of impending doom, some lyrics are oddly optimistic.  Phrases such as “I’ll color your dark with the hues of my day” elude to O’Neill’s commitment to help heal and nurture her love.  The primrose flower is often noted to be symbolic of young love, which may be playing a role in the song’s comforting nature. However, the overall tone of the words seems to be pointing to death and not being afraid of it when it comes. “Strange Day” allows the album to shift gears a bit. While lyrically limited, the instrumental is fairly upbeat in spirit.  Piano chords and percussion hits add a buoyancy to the track, along with the introduction of an organ and electric guitar melody. The words are like that of a poem, regarding how danger changes who you are and what you believe in.

“For You” follows. The piece begins with just the vocal, as O’Neill cleverly describes spending her days dreaming while she stays awake at night.  The reason for this uneasiness stems from a finished relationship, one that she wishes could have ended differently.  An electric guitar melody is the main driver of the instrumental, supported by kick drum and high hat hits as well as the consistency of bass guitar.  Although the story is one of pain and longing, O’Neill is able to illustrate a sense of hope with the idea that love will always find a way, as “there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you”.  This line is repeated over and over as the song winds down, indicating the narrator’s continued attachment to her love. “Fortune Favours” is remarkable for the balance illustrated by its lyrics. The second verse is bursting with these references, including “for every evil there’s a good” and “for every lie there’s a bitter truth”. Although these relationships may seem obvious, the listener is really forced to think about their interconnectedness throughout the track. The overall idea of the piece is centered around “fortune favors some of us and ignores those underground”. In essence, O’Neill performs an analysis of the qualities portrayed by those who are blessed with good fortune.  Even so, the conclusion is that “misfortune feeds on every little thing”, eluding to the fact that no one is immune to the infiltration of bad events or situations in life. This kind of back and forth logic is furthered by the rhythmic patterns of both the acoustic guitar and piano.  The second half of the song is completely instrumental, initially focusing on percussion. Electric guitar also takes over the melody during this section, flashing alternative influences. However, this more rock element is eventually softened by the prominence of the piano, which leads to a fade out of the track. Rounding out the album is “The Road”. The song was an appropriate choice to conclude the debut LP. Instrumentally, the melody features different aspects of O’Neill’s genre influences, including alternative and folk tendencies.  The original and familiar eeriness of the album also returns. This is the last chance for O’Neill to communicate with the listener, and she takes advantage of this opportunity by delivering yet another chilling anecdote. While “the road is long, too long to see”, it appears that O’Neill is prepared to wait for better things ahead. In true full circle fashion, the last bars of the piece sound like the crunching leaves introduced during the opening of “The Ebony Trail”.

If you’re a fan of folk and alternative music and appreciate the honesty and rawness of singer-songwriters, then you must listen to the album. O’Neill has been spending time in Nashville to work with Grammy winning songwriters, and will even be featured in a TV program on PBS in October 2016 with Iain Archer and Jim Lauderdale. Keep your eyes peeled for the special, entitled Music City Roots, Belfast To Nashville, and continue to support O’Neill as she enters the music industry head on.

Purchase music by Ciara O’Neill, including The Ebony Trail, on iTunes and Amazon.

Listen to music by Ciara O’Neill on Spotify, SoundCloud, and YouTube.

Stay up to date with Ciara O’Neill on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and on her official website.

DISCLAIMER:  All views and opinions expressed on this site are my own and do not represent the views and opinions of any entity whatsoever with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated.