❝ RY65 is Ryan McCloskey, an Indie/Folk singer-songwriter hailing from Co. Donegal. Although a new name, he has cut his teeth playing with various bands for the past 6 years, before making the decision to go it alone at the grand aul age of 22. Now 24, he is ready to make his mark, starting with this single ‘Trust’.
Although essentially a solo artist, and a pretty self-sufficient one at that given that he plays most of the instruments on the recording and produced the track himself, Ryan is not afraid to elicit the help of other talented artists. In the case of ‘Trust’ it is Raighan O’Callaghan, also from Co. Donegal, and there is no doubt her beautiful celtic vocals add a little something extra to what is already a very classy production.
‘Trust’ has a lovely atmospheric feel to it, starting with the gentle introduction of very lightly strummed strings, before Ryan’s high-pitched smooth voice sets the scene of this tale of lost love and betrayal. It’s hard to look past the obvious Damien Rice/Lisa Hannigan comparisons in terms of the storytelling with McCloskey telling the man’s side of the story and O’Callaghan the woman’s just as Rice/Hannigan did to such effect. The voices are very different though which nails any misconception that this is more of the same. There is an undoubted celtic feel to the song, a wistful melancholy that we Irish do so well, but you don’t have to delve too deeply behind the celtic fascade to realise that in terms of melody and structure is a pretty top-rate Indie Pop song that bears all the hallmarks of Chris Martin or Fran Healey type balladeering. I found the chorus immediately catchy, so much so I wondered if it sounded like some other song I already knew. But no, not really. It’s just a damn fine chorus.
If this is the standard of RY65’s work, then I think we can expect to hear a lot more from him in future. ❞
