Fionn Regan - Albums Collection 2006-2012 (4CD)

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Fionn Regan - Albums Collection 2006-2012 (4CD)

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In Great Britain, Fionn Regan was signed to Bella Union, an atmospheric dream pop label owned by former Cocteau Twin Simon Raymonde and home to acts like Robin Guthrie's ultra-atmospheric Violet Indiana. In the United States, Fionn Regan was signed to Lost Highway, an alternative country and roots rock imprint that's home to Lyle Lovett, Lucinda Williams, and Tift Merritt. The impressive thing is that the engaging singer and songwriter is a perfect fit for both labels. Born and raised in the coastal city of Bray, Ireland, Regan absorbed folk and blues influences alongside the usual rock & roll (in interviews, he has claimed inspiration ranging from Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie to the Velvet Underground and Nirvana) due to his artistic family's bohemian existence living and working at a seaside resort hotel. Picking up piano, violin, and guitar at an early age from his musician father, Regan was performing in public before he reached his tenth birthday and busking across the country by his mid-teens. Resettling in Brighton, England, Regan signed with the small indie Anvil Records and released two EPs, 2003's Reservoir and 2004's Hotel Room, before connecting with the more established Bella Union imprint. In search of a live, natural sound, Regan recorded his debut album, The End of History, largely in an abandoned stone barn. The album was released in Great Britain in the summer of 2006, garnering considerable praise and regular comparisons to both Damien Rice and Nick Drake, as well as two hit singles in "Put a Penny in the Slot" and "Be Good or Be Gone." Lost Highway scheduled the American release of The End of History for summer 2007. Regan set about recording a follow up in 2008 for the label Lost Highway, but upon its completion they refused to release it. The record, often referred to as The Red Tapes, never saw an official release. Regan chose to retreat to Ireland to record his next record without the involvement of a label. The Shadow of an Empire was eventually released in 2010 via Heavenly Recordings and was warmly received by the music press. 2011 and 2012 saw the release of two further records 100 Acres of Sycamore and the Bunkhouse, Vol. 1: Anchor Black Tattoo. Following this prolific period, it would be nearly five years before Regan would release a new album. The Meetings of the Waters eventually arrived in 2017, and was preceded by the release of the lead single and title track accompanied by a Cillian Murphy-starring video.

Stewart Mason, Allmusic.com

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Fionn Regan - Albums Collection 2006-2012 (4CD)

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Fionn Regan - Albums Collection 2006-2012 (4CD)

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The debut album by Irish-born, British-based singer/songwriter Fionn Regan was first released in the U.K. by ex-Cocteau Twins bassist Simon Raymonde's dream pop imprint Bella Union, before being picked up for U.S. distribution by the rootsy alt-country label Lost Highway. Impressively, it's a good fit for both labels. Regan keeps one foot in the singer/songwriter tradition – comparisons to Damien Rice and Nick Drake are ubiquitous in his reviews, and for good reason – but Regan's interest in specific soundscapes for their emotional resonances is a subtle but important philosophical link to the Cocteau Twins' sound for sounds' sake aesthetic. Regan recorded the majority of The End of History in a disused stone barn, live to a portable recorder. The natural reverb adds warmth to these often skeletal songs, most with little more accompaniment than Regan's acoustic guitar and practically whispered vocals. The sense of intimacy thus engendered adds weight to songs that might have otherwise seemed ethereally light, but at his best, Regan proves himself an immensely skilled songwriter. "I have become an aerial view of a coastal town that you once knew" is a startlingly apt image in the lovely lost-love lament "Be Good or Be Gone," and Regan's debut single "Put a Penny in the Slot" is an instant classic ranking with such wry slices of U.K. folk-rock as Lloyd Cole and the Commotions' "Perfect Skin" (right down to Regan's echoing of Cole's trademark habit of dropping authors' names in his lyrics, Paul Auster and Saul Bellow in this case) and any number of Richard Thompson's romantic character studies. The End of History suggests that a major talent may be brewing here.

Stewart Mason, Allmusic.com

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Fionn Regan - Albums Collection 2006-2012 (4CD)

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Fionn Regan composed the lyrics to this album on a typewriter, and has noted that the "percussive nature of typing" influenced the phrasing. Despite his tendency to sing in rat-a-tat bursts, "percussive" isn't the first word that comes to mind when listening. What you do notice are the fresh, striking lyrics ("glasses" is rhymed with "Mr Onassis", and Regan wishes he were "your coathook, your pearl-grey ­fedora") and the electric guitars. Yes, electric: while not wholly abandoning the folkie acoustica of his Mercury-nominated debut, The End of History, he's discovered the pleasure of plugging in, turning up the volume and roving in a bluesy, rockabillyish direction. And a pleasure it generally is. Regan can be sassy and scruffy, or quiveringly sincere, but he's never uninteresting. Words and images tumble out – we infer that he's a fool for love, but a cynical one – and by the end, you're thoroughly dazzled.

Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian

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Fionn Regan - Albums Collection 2006-2012 (4CD)

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Perhaps burned by the "Dylan goes electric" response to his plugged-in sophomore outing, The Shadow of an Empire, Irish troubadour Fionn Regan reverts back to the wistful acoustic folk sound that earned him a Mercury Music Prize nomination for his 2007 debut, The End of History. Written during a stay at Pushing Daisies actress Anna Friel's holiday home on the Spanish island of Majorca, 100 Acres of Sycamore reflects its highly relaxed conception, as Regan's hushed tones, which sometimes barely amount to a whisper, glide over 12 tracks delicately filled with warm acoustics, lilting piano chords, and for the first time in his career, layers of strings, whether it's the gently plucked pizzicatos of the brooding title track, the luscious orchestral arrangements on the gently shuffling "The Horses Are Asleep," or the haunting violins of the gorgeous Jeff Buckley-esque closing number, "Golden Light." The sun-kissed surroundings also appear to have influenced Regan's state of mind, as other than the suitably titled melancholy of "Vodka Sorrow" and the heartbreaking tale of loneliness "Dogwood Blossom," the downbeat nature of its predecessor has been replaced by a more introspective and optimistic lyrical stance, as evident on the whimsical "Sow Mare Bitch Vixen," the heartfelt "For a Nightingale" ("I love you and I always will"), and the reflective echo-laden "Woodberry Cemetery." But having startled everyone with the amped-up sound of his last effort, Regan appears to have overcompensated this time round, as the never-ending stream of intimate stripped-back arrangements occasionally begins to merge into one pleasant but ultimately repetitive ballad. But while it's sometimes a little too understated for its own good, 100 Acres of Sycamore is a never less than a charming and emotive U-turn suggesting that Regan now realizes where his talents lie.

Jon O'Brien, Allmusic.com

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Fionn Regan - Albums Collection 2006-2012 (4CD)

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This is great news. Fionn Regan is back in cracking form, stripping his music down to simplicity and honesty, proving in turn that "less is more". This Irish artist entered the musical world with a loud fanfare with his wonderful debut "The End of History"; it was sadly followed by a poor second album (The Shadow of Empire) and then a decent recovery on 2011's third album "100 years of Sycamore". To be fair to Regan he seems hell bent on plowing his own furrow and on "The Bunkhouse Volume 1 - Anchor Black Tattoo" he has taken the brave step of recording an album with just a four-track and microphone set-up in his own Bunkhouse Studio. The lack of musical accompaniment actually seems to liberate Regan and play to his strengths not least formidable guitar playing and a growing penchant for storytelling on a grand scale. True the album is a bit on the short side and its more of an EP than a LP. The pricing structure around it also a bit of a mystery, but shop around and do not let that put you off a very fine musical feast.

The 10-song cycle kicks off in fine style with the precise finger picking of "St Anthony's Fire" a soft gentle lament, which is most endearing. Second song in is "67 Blackout" a more upbeat and wistful construction, yet one underpinned by a dark tell expertly narrated by Regan. It is the third song in "Clara to Calvary" that those who loved "End of history" will offer the broadest smile of recognition, not because it harks backwards, but because it demonstrates that the old songwriting muse is back and firing on all cylinders. The same is true of the jaunty title track with its slight echo of "Black Water Child". Much darker is an album standout "Mizen to Malin" which most refers to a journey from Malin Head, Ireland's most northerly point in County Donegal to Mizen Head in County Cork, which allows Regan to ruefully reflect with vivid imagery on the condition of Ireland and its troubled economic woes. The longest song on the album is lovely melancholy of "The Gouldings" which is beautifully sung by Regan, while "Salt & Cloves" again is a pure joy, The final three tracks deviate little from the course set in the first half of the album and all are of solid construct most notably the echoes of Leonard Cohen on "Bunkhouse" which has a slightly dark threatening edge and brilliant lyrics while the penultimate song "Midnight Ferry Crossing" is an almost Paul Simon like chord structure accounting a parting journey in the saddest of tones.

At 25 minutes in length the album could draw criticisms but it is small and perfectly formed, showing Regan taking reflective stock after large supporting concert tours of artists such as Fiest. He himself has described this records song cycle as "Irish punk …because they're pure, made with just what I had at my disposal." The impressionistic beauties of these compositions hark back to songs like "Noah (Ghost in the sheet)" where Regan really started to carve out his own unique niche. As such "The Bunkhouse Vol. 1: Anchor Black Tattoo" sees Regan enter the hushed arena usually occupied by great American singers like Mark Kozelek, Damien Jurado and J Tillman. It is very fine company to keep and Regan is a very fine songwriter.

Red on Black, Amazon.co.uk