Conor Kavanagh – Keep Me Up At Night (2024)
With a voice likened to Bryan Adams and a young Rod Stewart, Conor Kavanagh offers a sense of grittiness in his music; however, I doubt Rod Stewart or Bryan Adams had the Irish charm and dry wit that make Kavanagh intriguing. The former drummer of Priorland, he embraces a solo career to “unleash his own songs onto the world” disregarding whether we are ready or not. Taking the hum-drum of everyday life from bright happiness to dreary misery, Kavanagh makes things less dull and more daring with infectious melodic appeal. This is our introduction to Conor Kavanagh, so join us as we cross our fingers, take a deep breath and dive into his discography.
Following his well-received 2023 singles ‘She’s In Red’ and ‘Stranger’, Kavanagh saunters into 2024 with ‘Keep Me Up At Night’. Leaning toward the rock sounds of U2 and Coldplay, ‘Keep Me Up At Night’ is a nostalgic breath of indie-rock caressing your face. Multi-instrumentalist Kavanagh fills the melody with pounding drums, a bold bass and a searing guitar offering a heavy rock band tone, particularly the crescendo to a cracking guitar solo. Yet, while a weighty guitar-driven sound exists, a piano lingers throughout the song like a silvery thread of vulnerability in a kaleidoscopic sonic tunnel.
Recorded at JAM Recording Studios in Kells, County Meath, the melody is enjoyable with an intricate interplay of instrumentation, but it is Kavanagh’s vocals that bind everything in a symphonic harmony. Rich and warm, he embraces you in a hug soothing your soul with a drip of comfortable tenderness; however, heartbreaking fragility oozes from the dulcet tones.
While ‘Keep Me Up At Night’ is infectious with its upbeat, toe-tapping, festival-ready tune, there is a collision between happy smiles and aching hearts in the poetic lyricism. As if reading a diary entry, Kavanagh allows us into his soul while he sings about love lost and how she runs around moving on but still sticks in his brain to keep him up at night.
Find out more about Conor Kavanagh on his Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
Listen to more intriguing indie-rock tunes on The Other Side Reviews Indie Rock playlist:
