Irish singer-songwriter David Keenan has released his new single. ‘Peter O’Toole’s Drinking Stories’. The song heralds Keenan’s eagerly awaited second studio album, due later this year. Keenan’s breakthrough debut album, ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Bravery’, arrived in January 2020 and immediately ascended to #1 on the official Irish Independent Album Charts as well as #6 on the overall National Album Charts. Fueled by such finely etched tracks as “Unholy Ghosts,” “Tin Pan Alley,” “Altar Wine,” and “The Healing,” the album proved among the best-selling vinyl album releases by an Irish artist in 2020. The release of A Beginner’s Guide to Bravery was celebrated with a sold-out headline show at Dublin’s world-renowned Olympia Theatre, an unforgettable performance captured for posterity in the acclaimed documentary, Alchemy & Prose : A Concert Film

‘Peter O’Toole’s Drinking Stories’ announces the spectacular return of David Keenan. Moving on from his debut album ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Bravery’ the artist is fleshing out his sound superbly. Jangly folk elements build over a driving rhythmic instrumental as Keenan creates a vibrant backdrop full of vitality. The song oscillates from tense verses to a lively chorus with ease, immersing the listener in a rich soundscape of lush guitar, buoyant rhythms, grand strings and lively percussion. All the while, Keenan’s warm vocals maintain a commanding presence. His ability to capture and hold the listener’s attention with his eloquent storytelling, well-coined phrases, and wit is masterful and is greatly enhanced by the instrumentation. A perfect example of this is the lyric “Tiptoe towards immortality laughing into the wind” – the instrumentation quietens to mirror Keenan’s hushed tone creating hair-raising tension for the jubilant infectious chorus to follow. ‘Peter O’Toole’s Drinking Stories’ is an exciting glimpse into what Keenan has in store for us with his upcoming album, and it’s looking like it’s going to be one heck of a treat.

Watch the video for ‘Peter O’Toole’s Drinking Stories’ below.

Author : Danu