Genres and labels, in the end, tell us very little about a musical artist. These “devices” are marketplace contrivances designed to help move units; they illuminate no deeper understanding of the message and motivations driving the artist’s creation.
New Zealand’s Arun O’Connor will be lumped in with many other Americana performers as a retro artist or throwback to an earlier time. Perhaps there is some truth to this. It misses the larger point made during his new single “Star of Your Own Show” that O’Connor is much more a chronicler of life and the unique interactions that often define our humanity.
Writing a sincere yet tempered exhortation to someone that they never lose their self-worth and to place greater importance on making the most of opportunities to do so. Setting his message in a mid-tempo arrangement reminiscent of classic country rather than its simplified modern offspring. Throw a pedal steel, fiddle, or harmonica in there and you’d have nearly every trope.
It’s notable, however, that O’Connor avoids that. There’s no manufactured twang weighing down the lines, especially the chorus, and O’Connor doesn’t don cowboy hats, boots, and an aw-shucks attitude for his audience. The lyrics are plain-spoken and conversational without ever sounding dull and predictable. The song’s subject matter is a little different from your every day song, for sure, but it strikes enough of an individual note that it stands out.
O’Connor has a strong and appealing voice. He deserves kudos for not layering too much double-tracking on his vocals and thus diluting their emotional heft. Many listeners will gravitate to the unabashed honesty of his presentation. Despite his far-flung upbringing, this is an artist thoroughly steeped in his craft and influences. The music emerging from this mix works within a tradition while remaining resolutely individual.
It’s been a fairly quick ascension for O’Connor from the relative notoriety of being among New Zealand’s finest songwriters to a recognized global talent. It comes without ever sacrificing his vision. As said before in this review, there is a distinctive quality in the way O’Connor shapes and approaches his material that sets it apart from cookie cutter invocations of long-standing traditions.
Jay Tooke’s production has an outstanding effect on the final result as well. The increasingly in-demand former drummer has served O’Connor well with this track. His contributions to Arun’s full length debut Songs from the Reading Room are likely to earn him greater notice and acclaim than ever before. He has an unostentatious way of presenting the material that helps give it an even more authentic ring.
Such attributes will continue to serve him in good stead as the years march on. Arun O’Connor has the sort of spirit in his music that suggests he’s a candidate for posterity rather than another fly by night pop hack. We have plenty of the latter, but genuine artists are in shorter supply than ever before. Arun O’Connor, in his own small but significant way, fills the gap and will for many years to come.
Chadwick Easton