Niall Connolly – There’s So Much More To See
Connolly has been based in New York for 20 years and There Is So Much More To See is the singer-
songwriter’s 10th album. Produced by Len Monachello, backed by his long term NYC band comprising
Monachello, Chris Foley, Brandon Wilde, Dennis Cronin and accompanied by an array of indie
luminaries including Holly Laessig (Lucius), Moushumi Chitre (Alara), MJ McCarthy (Zoey Van Goey)
and Kenneth Griffin (Rollerskate Skinny, August Wells), Connolly delivers a collection of songs
ruminating on universal themes of grief and loss and an anger with the current political climate in
the US as observed through the lens of an expat.
Opener ‘I Wish There Was A Way’ is bookended by samples from 1968’s The Incredible Machine, a
public service film about early computer systems, in between Connolly makes a plea for a return to
simpler times: “I wish there was a way, We could be nice to each other again.” It sets out his stall
perfectly: this is an album for our times, sometimes angry but underpinned – and reflected in the
title – by a sense of hope. Two recent deaths (Connolly’s father and an old friend) inspire many of the songs on the album. On ‘Swimming Upstream’, a beautiful reflection on friendship and loss, Connolly remembers a shared love of Rollerskate Skinny. RSS’s Ken Griffin delivers the self-referential line, “Sang Rollerskate Skinny and called your name”. It’s an inspired collaboration and one of many standout moments. On ‘No One Left to Blame’ when Moushumi Chitre delivers the devastating lines, “Informed on your neighbour, ICE took him away, Did you feel just like a patriot?” in a husky Country-ish drawl, the
effect is devastating. The darkly humorous ‘To Be A Stone’ follows and accompanied by ukulele,
piano and upright bass Connolly sings of the US Administration: “I’ll stick around and I will do, All the
things we need to do, To be a stone, In that motherfucker’s shoe.” This is powerful stuff on what is
easily Connolly’s strongest collection of songs to date.