Paula Ryan doesn’t actually defy convention but she resists it quite firmly. It begins with her instruments – she plays guitar, but who doesn’t? Bouzouki, bodhran, djembe and darabuka, too, saxophone, whistle and marimba, which is the first instrument we hear. Then there are the songs; English and Irish, wryly amusing or deadly serious.
The set opens with ‘A Thousand Smiling Faces’, inspired by a visit to Tanzania, a statement of Irish/African fusion and the joyful tone that characterises the record. The title track is a fairly straightforward biography of Amy Johnson, someone else who resisted convention, and none the worse for telling her story without frills and flounces. Next Paula switches to Irish for ‘Suantraí Donnacha’ which reappears in English as a bonus track as ‘Donnacha’s Lullaby’.
Session musicians will appreciate the joke in ‘Honest John’ (I won’t spoil it for you) but that is followed by the only cover on the album, John Faulkner’s ‘Lion In A Cage’ and we’re back under the African sun. The juxtaposition shouldn’t work but somehow it does. Back to Irish for ‘Havin The Craic!’ with full ceilidh band backing. Three songs, ‘Black Swan’, ‘Don’t Cry’ and ‘Castaway’ do change the mood somewhat. The first two exude a sadness and I still haven’t decided if the former is a metaphor for something that Paula keeps hidden. The last of the trio rises above the gloom and oozes optimism – cock-eyed, you might say.
The record wraps up in a happy mood with ‘The Funny Mood’ and ‘Song For Conor’ in which Paula rhymes “wonder” with “fonder” – get over that and it’s a very good song. She almost brings too many ideas together for one album and moods and styles change constantly from bright guitar to doomy percussion and drones. Let Me Fly is a remarkably good album by someone you probably hadn’t heard until now. I know I hadn’t.
Dai Jeffries
Artist’s website: http://paularyan.co/
‘Let Me Fly’ live. Not a great film but …
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