Funzo - The Great Lonesome Album Review

After what seemed like a lifetime of touring and collecting awards, May 2014 saw Funzo finally release his highly anticipated debut album, The Great Lonesome. Funzo is the brainchild of singer songwriter, Liam McDermott.

The album begins heavily doused in reggae and ska, particularly the second track “When It’s Over”. The album continues with a much more chilled out hip-pop vibe (that’s probably a genre right?) without being overly poppy, perfect for kicking back and relaxing after a hard day at work or chilling in the sun, something that doesn’t happen often in Ireland but this album can make a dark rainy day feel bright and sunny.

“The Window Song” is a brilliant display of what Funzo are capable of. It is a tune that is guaranteed to get even the most awkward dancer up on the dance floor or at least doing a head nod dance from the comfort of their seat. The humorous but creepy “Stalk This Way” is a song that will appeal to the inner internet stalker in all of us. Make no mistake about it, this album is as honest as it gets. We get a rare insight into the soul of a talented musician which doesn’t happen very often in hip hop as its usually dominated by bravado and bragging about bitches and money with very little raw and honest emotion. This is particularly evident in the latter stages of the album on tracks such as “We Didn’t Waste It” and “Listen Here”.

From the delivery of the well written personal lyrics that seem to flow effortlessly, to the well

produced beats, this is an album that is bound to leave the listener feeling upbeat and cheerful at times only to be smacked right in the feels by the more sombre heartbreaking songs that complete this autobiographical album. It is an album that undoubtably should be in everybody’s iTunes/Spotify/CD collection This album is available to listen to right now on Spotify and is also available from iTunes or on CD from Tower Records (for those of us that still enjoy the physical release) and wherever good music is sold. With a debut album as good as this, one can only wait for the second album to drop but you can rest assured that there will be plenty of live shows to keep your appetite satiated until then.

Standout Tracks: When Its Over, Stalk This Way & The Window Song

By: Dave McMahon

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