Tadhg Daly – Hit The Ground (2019)
The infamous ‘they’ say that the most confusing time in a person’s life is during their teens or adolescence. All those hormones bouncing about, and becoming aware of yourself as a budding adult. May I call bullshit!
In my opinion, the most confusing time of a person’s life is your twenties and even thirties. It’s at this point you are forced to define yourself. You can no longer change with the trends or move from group to group; you must establish yourself and become the adult society expects you to be irrespective of your chosen scene. It’s frustrating, scary and, while many adults may not admit this, the core of insecurity. Where do I fit in? Will I be accepted if I express my true self? This is a socially accepted norm among teens, but a 28-year-old…not so much.
Okay, Nicole, so where are you going with this? Amidst my ramblings (if you’ve made it thus far), I’m bringing you to Tadhg Daly’s latest single ‘Hit The Ground’.
I am astounded at the amount of young talent emerging from the indie-rock/indie-pop scene nowadays. Ranging from the UK’s Chay Snowdon to America’s Jon Pattie, all of them are releasing high-quality work early in their careers (and lives). While Daly joins this list of young ‘uns in age, his music captured me in a way the others haven’t. Yes, it even surpassed Chay Snowdon’s ‘Sha La La’, and if you follow my Twitter you’ll see that is no easy task!
It might be Daly’s voice that seems more mature than his 22 years. It might be the combination of drums, keyboard and guitar swelling at the right moment to emphasise his voice. It might be the way Daly pronounces ‘dancing’ with a long ‘A’ in the UK style. It might even be the fact that I read a response to an interview question just before that falls in line with the sentiment of the track; no, I am not telling you which interview. Whatever the reason, ‘Hit The Ground’ hit me on a professional and somewhat personal level.
My favourite lyric is potentially, ‘I’m ready to live now’. Gaining self-confidence and overcoming insecurity is not only about self-discovery, but also being strong enough to accept that self-discovery. To say, ‘this is me. I cast my shackles and am ready to live, even if that means hitting the ground.’ Daly dictates this movement from helpless dependence on others in a state of insecurity to a fearless self-acknowledge and freedom.
I could compare Daly to another artist or even call him the next Hozier; in fact, he played with Hozier. I’m not going to because that wouldn’t be fair. Tadhg Daly is not anybody else, he is already somebody! Give him a year and he’ll be the comparison.
To engage with Tadhg, check out his Facebook, Twitter or official website.
