Scottish-born Lorkin O’Reilly is one of
the top singer-songwriters in the region, so it’s always a delight to learn that he’s released some more music. And, hey, guess what? The Catskill resident recently put out Christmas is Cancelled, a special, seasonal three-song digital EP via New Paltz-based label Team Love Records and Bandcamp.
Artistically descended from the great British (Nick Drake, John Martyn, Bert Jansch, Roy Harper) and contemporary folksingers (Bill Callahan, Damien Jurado), O’Reilly was born in Edinburgh in 1994 and learned about traditional Celtic music from his Irish mother. After moving to the Hudson Valley to work on a farm in 2012, he recorded his debut EP, After the Thaw, which was released that year; the full lengths Heaven Depends (2018) and Marriage Material (2020) came next. Reviewing the latter disc in the April 2022 issue of Chronogram. Jason Broome writes: “Marriage Material is a gift of the emotional frailty of the human condition and its many corrals. The stories are easy to identify with and relate to your own special version of ‘sad and alone.’ The 11 songs satiate the present need for glorious laments from the most sensitive and expressive of musical instruments, the human voice and lyric.”
Christmas is Cancelled features the tender-and-timely tracks “Thank You Bruce,” “Pass the Heroes,” and “Snowpile.” Check them out here:
https://lorkinoreilly.bandcamp.com/album/christmas-is-cancelled
Christmas is Cancelled is out now on Team Love Records and at Lorkin O’Reilly’s Bandcamp page.