Richard BodinUsually Stephen Brennan performs with his “power trio” Cold Shot with whom he covers blues. The band is known for their energetic performances around places like the Rory Gallagher Festival, Blues on The Bay or Ballycastle Blues Festival. But this time he comes solo, and delivers a debut EP, The Fisherman And Other Stories. Rooted in blues and folk tradition, Stephen Brennan delivers a deep and meaningful record.
The Roadtrip of a lifetime
Back in 2024, he and his wife decided to ditch everything, got on motorcycle and went out for the road trip of their life. From Dublin to Japan, the pair made sure to pack the essential: folding guitars, and some change. Through mountaintops, hills, jungles, deserts and hypercities they travelled for eighteen months. They made wonderful connections, with humanity and the fragile world we live in.
This experience inspired Stephen Brennan greatly, and he started to put it all in music. Upon his return, he put a band together to record these new songs and share The Fisherman And Other Stories with the world.
The Songs Born Along the Way
The record opens with the deeply emotional “Crooked Still”. The song, bluesy and powerful with some traditional hints explores sorrow and grief. It tells about the wounds left open after a close one’s passing, the difficulty to find closure. The music grows in intensity as the song progresses. Stephen Brennan pours his soul in his guitar and sings from deep in guts.
Songs of Protest
On the road, Brennan experienced the best and worst of what humans do to this planet. And it inspired two songs carrying a more political message. “Life And Death” gets off to a flying start. On this one, Brennan leans towards a more gritty blues with an edgy rock n roll vibe and shines a light on the grip capitalism has on our daily lives. For better or worse. Mostly for worse. I have to say I like this one particularly well.
Next, “Earthbound” is a wonderful driving ballad about how humanity treats Earth’s treasures as granted. The dissonant solo is a perfect allegory of the alarming situation and of the giant paradox humanity trapped itself in as it depends on the planet to survive and yet exploits its resources to a dangerous extent.
Stories in Song
Stephen Brennan then reveals his strength as a storyteller. “Carry Me”, re-imagines the classic “Wayfaring Stranger” — which he covers at the end of the EP. He tells the story of a man longing for some sort of transfiguration, to leave our cold world behind. This intense track reverberates through my body as if in transe, with droning bass lines, intricate melody and soaring vocals…
“The Fisherman”, is inspired by a novel by John Langan, and tells the tale of fisherman ready to damn his soul to return a lost love to life with terrible consequences. The storytelling is supported with a wonderful instrumentation and melody in two distincts movement to highlight the dark turn taken in the story.
Final Thoughts
Somewhere between storytelling and protest song, Stephen Brennan hits hard with his debut EP. The Fisherman And Other Stories feels like the perfect soundtrack for a road trip: gritty, powerful, bluesy as fuck, and carrying a few stories worth hearing along the way.
