The genre of singer/songwriter is in extremely fine fettle at the moment with a wide range of artists making their mark on the scene with interesting and compelling music. Another one of these artists who is creating fantastic music at the moment is the Monaghan singer/songwrtiter Barry Jay Hughes, and his recent single The Sound of Your Voice is another representation of the quality of songwriting that he is becoming known for.

The first thing that draws you to this track is the vocal texture that Hughes has to tell the story of at the heart of the song. This is a song about growing up in your small native town and feeling suffocated by the lack of opportunities that it can leave us with. This is a sentiment that would be extremely relatable to a lot of people who live in rural areas in Ireland who begin to feel as though they are trapped in their surroundings and a sense of stagnation seems to settle in. The also hints at the frustration that can settle in and a sense of resentment that can develop towards the place that raised you.

The instrumentation across the track also helps to act as a representation and metaphor for the sentiment at the heart of the song. The verses and especially the middle eight seem to represent the down times that we have while living in smaller rural communities before the driving guitar and cajon (served up by Ronan Nolan) stand for those dominant and assertive moments as you try to escape the trappings and become someone different.

The track is set to feature on the debut album by Barry Jay Hughes which is coming in the winter, and it is definitely something to keep your eye out for.

MK