Helen O’Shea – “Sturdy Soul” / “Holy Mother” Feat. Alexander Simone

Helen O’Shea – “Sturdy Soul” / “Holy Mother” Feat. Alexander Simone – Singles Review

Alrighty…there’s something here for sure.

I’m not going to say that I completely know what just yet, but there is something here.

I read the label of ‘AmeriCeltiCana’ and definitely felt that instant pang of pain that reminds me how much genres and sub-genres give me a giant headache.  Plus a little bit of fear…I’m pretty far removed from Americana for the most part…a little on the fringe of Folk…and have even less experience with true Celtic music overall.  I know when the odds are stacked against me, but I also know when I’m listening to an artist or band with something special inside them.  Helen O’Shea has got that special something, this much I know…though I’m not entirely convinced we’ve quite gotten to the heart of what that is just yet.

So…I’ve got these two tunes here, both of which come from her most recent album called Sturdy Souls.  For this review, we’ve got the singular version of her title, “Sturdy Soul,” and we’ve got “Holy Mother” featuring Alexander Simone as well.  Both tunes show incredibly different sides of Helen’s overall sound.

As I listened to “Sturdy Soul,” I felt like…hmm…I guess I heard potential more than what I was listening to, which happens sometimes.  Don’t get me wrong, I like what I hear…but I was never sure that Helen completely had the right approach to how she chose to sing this one if I’m being honest with ya.  I don’t want anyone to get my words twisted around though, so let me be clear – her tone is on, and what she’s chosen to do WORKS…I’m simply wondering out loud if there was another way to have gone about it that might have proven to be even more effective, that’s all.  Like, to be real with ya, I sat here listening to “Sturdy Soul” and half the time I was thinking about how Helen would probably crush covers of songs by The Black Crowes or Led Zeppelin…which I suppose had me wondering why we weren’t hearing a bit more of that kind of direction in the way she sings this tune.  I’m never the guy that’s gonna suggest anyone out there just tries to be some kind of carbon copy of anyone else…but yeah…there’s that hint of rasp that Helen reveals sometimes…or the way she sings with a more fired-up approach within the short breakdown in the background of the third minute…I dunno – I just feel like when I listen to “Sturdy Soul” my gut kept telling me that she’s good, but there’s greatness within her trying to get out.  As I like to say around these pages of ours, if hearing potential makes me a villain, so be it…I’ve gotta call things like I hear’em, because honesty is what helps the scene, the bands, and the artists I listen to the most.  I really like the music and the musicianship I hear in “Sturdy Soul” – and I feel like there’s a whole lot of good stuff happenin’ within the songwriting here too.  Helen sings clear and she sings well, that’s the facts.  I personally feel like a bit of a lower tone might have paid off for her in this song, and I feel like her performance feels a bit more cautious and careful, as opposed to really feeling the moment and going with it – make sense?  She’s got these moments inside “Sturdy Soul,” like the roll she goes on around at the 1:07 mark for example…that’s where you can feel that transition from focusing on her performance to feeling it, and it genuinely makes a huge difference.  Anyhow…I’m not at all trying to be discouraging with any of my comments – I think Helen’s done a solid job throughout “Sturdy Soul,” but I suspect that this song has continued to grow and evolve past what we hear in this particular recording.  This lady has got some serious soul of her own, that’s all I’ve been trying to say…and I wanna hear that more inside of a song like this one.  Overall though, again, don’t get me twisted…it works…“Sturdy Soul” is a good tune.

It just so happens, that “Holy Mother” is a great one…that’s all.  There’s a reason you’d find a track like this at the end of Helen’s latest album as the finale track…this is the kind of song you can have the full confidence in creating a conclusion to a record that people would practically stand up and cheer for, even if they were listening to it at home.  I love how it begins with that same kind of mysterious vibe that gave you chills back when you first heard a song like Alanis Morissette’s “Uninvited” back in the day – you’re not quite sure if “Holy Mother” is about to go ice cold, or warm up from its first moments, which instantly sparks our curiosity.  I can confirm it’s the latter scenario, at least in what we hear.  The lyricism is laden with clever contrast and complex emotions on display, which I really enjoyed too – but yeah…when it comes to the performance that you’ll hear from Helen and Alexander, especially in the chorus, you’ll find that they bring a genuine warmth to their duet that really works wonders.  The main hook of the chorus comes out stunningly perfect and brings the best outta both of them.  That being said, they should also be extraordinarily proud of how the whole thing comes out, verses and all.  Right off the bat, Helen seems to have raised the stakes in the way she sings “Holy Mother” – you can feel her feeling the moment & the music, and again, that’s what makes the real difference to get the best out of her voice.  Having said that, sometimes having the right guest-star alongside you can inspire an artist to really reach for the stars too, and we could be hearing the effect of that in action too.  Alexander is clearly a seasoned veteran of the mic, and he sings with such a robust & soulful sound…it would have been tough to compete with or even hold your own against, which could very well be something that O’Shea was fully aware of, knowing that she had to haul out her very best to bring the balance needed to a performance with Simone.  Our greatest successes are achieved by being challenged, and to me, that’s what it felt like I was listening to here on “Holy Mother” – Simone’s larger-than-life presence got O’Shea to find that next level, and together, they truly sound magical together.  So heck yeah…I felt like listening to “Holy Mother” provided the proof to what I was hearing in the potential she flashed through “Sturdy Soul” earlier on.  Call it hubris if you wanna, but I like being right when it comes to music.  That something special we were looking for is brilliantly revealed on “Holy Mother,” and confirms that Helen O’Shea definitely has the melodic magic it takes to captivate & move our hearts and minds as we listen.

Find out more about Helen O’Shea from her official page at Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/helenosheamusic

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