SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: IRISH MILLIE – CAN YOU SEE ME?

IRISH MILLIE
CAN YOU SEE ME?
INDEPENDENT

Even though she is only 19, Can You See Me? is Irish Millie’s third album since she debuted in 2020. Can You See Me? has its roots in folk, but there is a lot more to the album. Yes, the traditional fiddles and guitars populate her world, but she expands on the genre. She is not confined by the rules of the style but rather goes outside the folk borders and creates incredible music that incorporates many influences, much like Alison Krauss. She is not a Krauss clone, but rather in the approach to the music.

A song like “Try,” for example, which features Sara Cee and Caitlin O’Connor is closer to country than traditional folk. It is a beautiful and melancholy song that is nicely arranged and features a nice vocal arrangement. This is followed with the much more traditional folk instrumental “Joel’s Tune (Feat. Gustavo Fofao).” This is just an example of Irish Millie being able to move from one genre to the other with a great deal of ease.

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The album is not a concept album, but it does have themes of growing up, love and love loss and trying to figure out life and her place in it. For example, in the song “End Is Due,” she starts the song off with:

Here’s a story about me/
One you probably wouldn’t expect/
It changed the way I thought about things/
Changed the way I connect.

The song has a mixture of anger and sadness. She is a brilliant lyricist and is able to express herself very creatively.

The album ends with the epic title track. Again, the song reads like a poem, and she adds a stirring arrangement. This brings the album to an end and the title, Can You See Me?,  is the perfect title for the album. She is laying it all out for all to see and hear. It is a concessional album about transition. As she is entering into a new stage of her life, she questions and re-examines her life. She just happens to do it with beautiful melodies.

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Inlay Photo Credit: Mary Payne