Singer-songwriter Si Noble will launch his new single 'The Witching Hour' with a live show at Monroe's Backstage Bar on Friday, April 10, at 7.30pm.
The title-track and third single from Noble's forthcoming debut solo album, 'The Witching Hour' reveals a pastoral, seventies, folk-inspired side of his music, with intimate acoustic guitar, atmospheric electric guitar lines, and an emotionally open vocal performance marking a significant step-change in his solo work.
The single is a slow-rolling wave of lyrics over plucked guitar, carried by an unhurried drum rhythm, akin to José González's 'Heartbeats'.
"'The Witching Hour' portrays a deeply emotional and conflicted love," says Noble. "The bittersweet tension between the ease of loving someone deeply, and the fear of facing a future without them. Set against the quiet solitude of the witching hour itself, it explores guilt and helplessness as the protagonist witnesses the suffering of someone they love, seemingly caused or worsened by their own presence."
The single is accompanied by a B-side, 'Pictures Of You', which Noble describes as "a song about a bitter cowboy, heading off into the distance, having had his heart broken." It is a wry counterpoint to the A-side's introspection.
As with Noble's previous singles, 'Warm Air' and 'Kiss Goodnight', 'The Witching Hour' was produced by Mercury Prize-winning singer-songwriter Ed Harcourt, recorded at Harcourt's Wolf Cabin Studio in Oxfordshire, and mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London.
Originally from Oxfordshire, Si Noble has lived and worked in Galway for twenty years, and is a well-established figure in the local music scene. He fronted Brit-rock influenced band Mugger Dave, who released the album What's She Doing Here? in 2010, and later led indie-rock band Cranky Face, which released a number of singles in the late 2010s.
Beyond music, Noble has built a parallel career in Irish language media, working with RTÉ, TG4, and ROSG Productions, and is currently a producer with Connemara-based TV production company Fibín.
His roots in Galway city and Connemara communities make the forthcoming release of his debut solo album — years in the making — a genuine milestone for the local arts scene.
'The Witching Hour' is available on all major streaming platforms and can be downloaded via Bandcamp and iTunes.
Tickets €11 for April 10 show from www.Monroes.ie
