Keeley – Echo Everywhere EP

By RingMaster Review on March 5, 2022 • ( 0 )

February 25^th saw the Brave Warrior EP from Irish indie rock/pop artist Keeley get a 10” vinyl release courtesy of Dimple Discs following its acclaim gathering outing in 2021. In between she unveiled the Echo Everywhere EP so to celebrate the special Ltd Ed (500 copies) release of that first triumph we explore its successor.

As with her first EP, Keeley linked up with producer Alan Maguire who again aligns his craft on guitar, keys and programming with the guitar and vocal prowess of Keeley for Echo Everywhere. It is also a collection of tracks dedicated to the memory of Inga Maria Hauser, a German tourist murdered in Northern Ireland in 1988, an unsolved case which Keeley continues to work to advance and resolve through her blog, The Keeley Chronicles, working closely with Northern Irish police, senior politicians and Inga’s legal representatives in Northern Ireland.

Echo Everywhere opens with a remix by producer Paul Tipler (Stereolab, Elastica, Idlewild, Placebo, Julian Cope, House Of Love) of the outstanding single, The Glitter And The Glue. It is a track which epitomises Keeley’s alternative rock bred sound, its pop inclinations and the energy and passion it is bred in. Instantly it grabs the listener by the hand and takes them on a dextrous and spirited stroll, guitars and rhythms an earnest tempting of body and imagination as Keeley’s vocal and lyrical contemplation evokes thoughts. Unapologetically infectious yet openly impassioned in its thoughts with Tipler bringing a fresh and almost spiky aspect to its breath and character, the song continues to captivate.

Never O’Clock comes next, the song instantly shimmering on the senses with a golden hue and melodic radiance. Swiftly its pop instincts are an open tempting, almost Bananarama like in its harmonic glow and elegant catchiness. Again though, there is an underlying edge which occasionally adds a snarl to the song’s rumination and transfixing air.

Similarly To A London Sunrise has an elegant beauty to its presence and volatility in its emotive breath, the song a ballad of contemplation and muse of reflection unifying beauty and the darkest shadows. As its predecessor, it is a song which draws you in physically and equally in thought with every play and captivates each time just as intensely.

The EP’s title track concludes the release, again its body a ballad of dramatic emotion and scrutiny within a glaze of melodic enterprise drawing on a sonic kaleidoscope of flavours. By the second it escalated the pull on ears and its capture of the imagination; a fateful journey reminisced and incitement of one’s own intimate thoughts sparked.

With Brave Warrior and through the Echo Everywhere EP, Keeley has established herself as one fascinating and compelling artist with a sound to match; the vinyl release of the former a celebration of the fact.

Go to https://keeleysound.bandcamp.com/ to buy both EPs and the Ltd vinyl release of the Brave Warrior EP, our review of which can be found @ https://ringmasterreviewintroduces.wordpress.com/2021/08/21/keeley-brave-warrior/