Somebody’s Child: Beautiful escape from the harsh realities of living in Dublin

Cian Godfrey’s full-length debut – following EPs 20-Something, Hope, Amongst Other Things and Staying Sane – is fuelled by a “chronic fear of growing older”. Produced by the accomplished Mikko Gordon, it partly explores Godfrey’s time growing up in Dublin, and acted as something of an “escape” from the realities of living in one of the most expensive cities in Europe.

Godfrey has spoken of the album as referencing the 1980s “rolling into” the ‘00s, and tries to make it make sense for now. It seems fitting that time was spent working on the record in the UK, since it folds in so many references from there.

The ghostly hands of The Cure and New Order float over Hold Me Like You Wanna – where Friday I’m in Love skirts Blue Monday. I Need Ya is all uptempo guitars that fold in elements of Arctic Monkeys, while other songs such as You Know What or Sell Out go down a well-trodden anthemic path.

While tangential influences such as Blade Runner are welcome (linking into a wonkier aesthetic), the tone of the record is a bit more one-note. However, there is promise on something like Give It Up to Love, with its nice guitars, or How Long?, with its conjuring of Dreams-era Fleetwood Mac. The squalling guitars on Jungle suggest that Godfrey shouldn’t fear getting older, but run headfirst into the mess.