100 Acres of Sycamore

iTunes Review

This Irish singer/songwriter/guitarist’s third album is an intimate affair rich with pastoral lyrics and caressing melodies, bolstered by tasteful use of piano, strings, and percussion. Regan’s vocals are softly applied yet never less than fully committed—there’s real emotion here, expressed with tenderness and a touch of wry humor. Songs like “For a Nightingale,” “The Lake District," and “List of Distractions” display both an admirable attention to craftsmanship and a vulnerability that disarms all cynicism. Many of these tunes examine love both chaste and carnal, with “1st Day of May” achieving a boyish sweetness and “Sow Mare Bitch Vixen” standing out for its playful bohemian wit. The brooding title tune and “Vodka Sorrow” reveal Regan’s darker interior spaces, while “Golden Light” is bathed in a mystical shimmer. Overall, the album brings to mind the ‘60s folk troubadour movement, with its sparse instrumentation and unselfconscious romanticism. Yet Regan is no mere revivalist—his latest songs are deeply personal, rendered with striking imagery and idiosyncratic style.