Fionn Regan: “100 Acres of Sycamore”
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The first thing you notice about Fionn Regan is his voice. The Irish singer-songwriter might be young, but he sounds wise beyond his years. That’s because despite his age, Regan has been a musician almost his entire life. Growing up in the small coastal town of Bray, Ireland, he got his start playing music with his family at a local seaside resort. He quickly learned piano, violin, and guitar, leading to several teenaged trips spent busking across the country.
It took a move to another coastal city–the considerably larger Brighton, England–to jumpstart Regan’s recording career. His debut album, 2006′s The End of History, was recorded live in a barn and earned him a number of nods from the British press. Hailed as the next Nick Drake, Regan took a Dylan-esque turn by “going electric” on his follow-up The Shadow of An Empire. His latest, last year’s 100 Acres of Sycamore, finds common ground between his two halves. There’s a full-band sound augmented with strings and woodwinds, but as a nod to his start, he captured the album live in just seven days.
The result is a record that showcases not only Regan’s songwriting but also his showmanship. Songs like “100 Acres of Sycamore”–today’s song of the day–are a tour de force for his emotional singing. He’s a unique talent, no matter where or how he’s recorded.
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