The Band of Cloud

The Band of Cloud is 'the collective umbrella-like moniker for the musical projects of Padraig O'Connor and musical friends'. After stopping by to listen to some of the material on offer on his myspace earlier this week I was taken aback by a real gem here in 'Porcelain Doll'. Velvet Underground classics such as 'Sunday Morning' and 'Candy Says' jump out as clear inspiration. The song gels that tainted elegance of The Velvet Underground with some of the psychedelic pop draw of mid-to-late era Beatles. It is accompanied by a home video which adds to its indie appeal, where words such as 'enchanting' and 'captivating' immediately come to mind. A real gem (there, I've said it twice), highly recommended.

As for the remainder of the material on offer at the moment, you get a rather quaint 60s style pop ballad in 'These Times', two very Beatles-esqe acoustic numbers in 'Tumbling Monday' and 'Cream Seems Fine', both of which illustrate a lot more McCartney than Lennon in influence, and a dreadful a capella moment in 'That's Your Time' which is one best avoided.

It is mainly on the strength of 'Porcelain Doll' that I'm interested on hearing more material from The Band of Cloud, but there are enough moments in the rest to hold interest regardless. Apparently unsigned with no released material as of yet, a few upcoming shows are listed on his myspace.

Related Links:

http://www.myspace.com/padraigoconnor