Mike Ireland & Holler
Try Again

(Ashmont)

mikeireland.com

ashmontmedia.com

It’s been an eternity since the last Mike Ireland record. About four years. While the singer-songwriter and bassist from Kansas City, Missouri has retained his band and his captivating country croon, it’s a whole new approach on this recording.

Ireland’s previous album, Learning How to Live, focused its bitterness and angst to profound effect. Ireland had some laundry to air, and did so in unforgettable fashion.

Now, it seems, he has found peace. While songs on his previous record discussed burning down a lover’s house (“House of Secrets”), or finding the phone number of another man in her purse (“Worst of All”), the new record focuses on hope (“I think I could open my eyes/I’d like to/ Let love be blind”), and love (“These little tears in your eyes/They look a lot like mine/And life disappoints us in time/It just takes time”).

It was only a matter of time before this true country singer found his way, and, fortunately, despite the shift in attitude, the songs remain strong. Perhaps it’s the realist in him that allows him to focus his angst, remaining true to the grief that tends to arouse passion, while refusing to give up.

It’s difficult to recommend “country” artists in this day of Nash-vegas production babies, but Ireland is one guy who manages to play the Opry while remaining true to the original visions of the great artists who made Nashville the birthplace of country music. Listen to “Sweet Sweetheart” and be reminded of artists such as Glen Campbell and Charlie Rich (whom Ireland covers later on in the record, on “Life Has Its Little Ups and Downs”). On “Welcome Back”, a song dedicated to Ireland’s recently-deceased father, he seems to take solace in the comfort of his existence, despite its many difficulties. There’s no way to describe the appeal of authenticity that could do the sound justice.

It’s a timeless recording from someone who is managing to find a space for himself in today’s country music environment. Visits to the Opry, echoes of the lost greats, and albums as beautiful as this one couldn’t be a better way to get things started.

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