Certain songwriters just seem to get it, whatever it is, they get it. An ability to seemingly create imagery within their music that is so vivid and so clear that it’s almost as though you are being presented with a photograph of them. One of the best artists that I have heard at doing this is the Tipperary native, singer/songwriter Seánie Bermingham.

The talented primary teacher recently released his second official single, and the song that would act as the first taster for what is to come from his debut EP, That Hollow Moon, later in the year. The track, entitled Call The Coroner, is another outstanding representation of the skills and talent that Bermingham possesses for constructing heartwarming and introspective soundscapes in his songs, while never distracting from the vivid imagery at the core of the stories in the songs.

Bermingham has explained that the song explores the feelings of anxiety that come with watching your life slowly change in front of you, and often change in ways that you didn’t expect or ways that weren’t part of the plan at the start. The songwriter has said before that feeling as though things were changing in a way he had not anticipated had lead to a loss of self as he wasn’t sure who he was in light of unexpected developments. It is a powerful idea to explore in a song, and ultimately Bermingham comes to the conclusion that these changes eventually need to be acknowledged and accepted to allow for us to be able to find who we are as people again.

The opening verse of this song is a wonderful introduction to the imagery that would be scattered throughout the song. Bermingham reminds us of the extent that change and coincedence plays in the eventual results of things and how our dreams will often remain just that despite our best efforts. We are also asked to think about the ways that observing things going in an alternative direction to what you had hoped can cause much introspection and contemplation during the more silent moments of the day, this sensation of analysis and inner thought is presented in the form of “the beast” at your door. Bermingham has a genuine talent for musicianship, and his thorough knowledge of the instruments he makes use of helps to accurately reflect the emotions being put forward, with piano and strings melding beautifully.

“I saw you fall in the wishing well,

You flipped the coin but you couldn’t tell”

However, the song concludes with a message of hope. Bermingham reminds us that we have managed to kill that “beast” before and, now that we have, we can see a world full of glory and colour, with endless possibility. Again the instrumentation here is truly breathtaking, and helps to really push the sense of optimism that is being shown in the lyrics.

You’re golden.

MK