What does the word persistence mean to you? Does it mean you give it all you got for years, and then finally give up? Or does it mean you put in your sweat equity and for someone else, and maybe work on your own dream on the backburner or on the side? In the new song, “Too Far Gone” singer/songwriter Arun O’Connor might be singing about his lady love or he might just be telling an autobiography about his own career heading a cover band and pursuing a country/rock solo career. A contest winner, a son carrying on the family’s musical dynasty and a talented artist, O’Connor just might be the next big New Zealand export since Lorde.
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O’Connor took home the Senior Overall Award, and Open Vocal Group, Senior Male Vocal, Senior New Zealand Song and New Country Category at the 2018 Gold Guitar Awards for his cover of Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey”. Besides the sweep, he won the opportunity to record a song in Nashville. Enter drummer for the country rock band The Steel Woods Jay Tooke. With the confidence of several hardware under his belt, and starting to write his own songs, the damn pandemic got in the way of his travel plans. His Nashville trip would have to wait, but he still managed to co-write “Too Far Gone” with Ryan Sorestad, Brittany Knott and Taylor Nash. “Too Far Gone” is from O’Connor’s debut album, the Tooke-produced Songs from the Reading Room.
Proving it’s not just elbow grease that has gone into learning his craft and slugging those songs all those years while leading the cover band, Small Feet for the past 11 years, “Too Far Gone” puts O’Connor’s gritty but still sexy voice at front-and-center. If he were a pop artist he’d be Dave Gahan (Depeche Mode) meeting at the crosswalk with Jason Mraz and Scott Stapp (Creed). The tension in O’Connor’s voice is full of yearning, angst, disgust, hope and optimism. He’s a rowdy mix of ‘em all and it’s hard to not be convinced of his artistry and charm. You find yourself cheering for him, rooting for his resilience and at the same time, you’re comparing life notes and how much this too has happened to you in relationships. It doesn’t get much more universal than that, I think.
Seamlessly pieced together with O’Connor’s vocals are the temperature rising electric guitar and country-rock rhythm section most suited to play backup. Because it’s certainly backed up when it comes to his voice, and the backing band glues that final piece together. The guitar is like the sweet embers firing off a bonfire. The flaming guitar strings catch that spark and run with it. Maybe that’s the point – it scorches things down to build again. It ignites something, that guitar, and it burns brightly. The listener, too, grabs on and can’t wait to dance to the spirited release. “Too Far Gone” reels you in, keeps you close and doesn’t let go of its grip. O’Connor shines.
Chadwick Easton