Jack O’Rourke: Ivory Towers review – Infectious positivity from rising Cork star

Jack O’Rourke exudes positivity, so it’s little wonder that his stirring song Silence was chosen by Amnesty International as a marriage equality anthem in 2015, and progressed to win a prestigious songwriting competition judged by true-blue songwriter royalty like Tom Waits and Bill Withers. The title track from his new mini-album, Ivory Towers, bursts at the seams with cheerful radiance. “There’s never been a better you, never been a better me, soul to soul like ivory towers,” chimes the Corkman over a soaring melody and infectiously catchy song arrangement.

Showmanship is the sort of subtly skewered offering that Elvis Costello would be proud to call his own. Ivory Towers bookends this short but very sweet collection with the original plus a slow and very smooth piano version. An already accomplished performer who has shared a stage with Glen Hansard, Bell X1, Imelda May and Declan O’Rourke, and a festival regular since the release of his debut album, Dreamcatcher, O’Rourke is certainly inching closer to his own ivory tower. Paradise surely beckons.