A cliché has it that you have to beware of the quiet ones, because most of the time their voices speak sharper and with more range than the loudmouths.
Every cliché, however, has a grain of truth in it, and so it’s fair to say that while Cork singer-songwriter Mick Flannery is outwardly reserved, his songs are fluent in expressing layered aspects of the human condition, its flaws, triumphs, and general uncertainty.
An award-winning, double-platinum selling artist, Mick Flannery is on the brink of releasing not only his self-titled sixth album, but also overseeing the worldwide premiere of the stage musical, Evening Train (so named after his 2007 debut album ).
He began to write songs as a teenager in his home of Blarney with musical influences from albums by the likes of Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell and Tom Waits seeping into his creative DNA.
Mick absorbed, learned and honed the craft that would send him on his way into the world. The path was smoothed somewhat when, at the age of 19, he became the first Irish songwriter to win the Nashville-based International Songwriting Competition. By the time he turned 21, he had signed to a major label and released his debut album.
With his latest release, Mick touches on loose themes of ambition and the search for a meaningful life in the context of a musician’s sometimes feckless and dysfunctional lifestyle. The central character, he reveals, is someone like him, “although this person achieves more notoriety than I have. He is properly famous, and he has to deal with that.” The loose theme is just that, however. “I’m not going to hammer it home. Facets of the theme are on the album, but the storyline itself isn’t an overarching one - each song can stand on its own, and not need to be part of a narrative.”
Songs on the album reference reputation and ego (Wasteland ), emotional search and rescue (Come Find Me ), socio-cultural intransigence (I’ve Been Right ), flawed or unreliable love (How I Miss You, Way Things Go ), moral collapse (Light A Fire ) and loss of status Star to Star. Whether or not the listener locks onto the themes or topics is irrelevant, says Mick. “There are a few relationship songs on the album that don’t necessarily marry into anything; I see them as a background thing, although with value.”
Threading a line throughout is Mick’s uncanny knack for blending melody with thought-provoking lyrics. Now in his mid-30s, and somewhat reflective of the musician he sings about on his self-titled album, Mick is fully aware of the internal struggles that come with trying to balance ambitions with whatever life throws their way.
Mick Flannery will perform a solo show at the Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar on January 8, 2022. Tickets are on sale now from The Linenhall Arts Centre website and the show is brought to you by Finbar Hoban Presents.
