REVIEW: Arun O’Connor — Too Far Gone (SINGLE)
Arun O’Connor has already packed in an enormous career for a limited stage and time. Hailing from New Zealand music royalty through his father, it’s likely that O’Connor never imagined doing anything else with his life. A sense of destiny follows some. He definitely sings like someone chosen to bear the gifts of musical skill with his inviting and wide-open voice, vulnerability, and attention to detail. His collaborators are responding to him as well. The playing throughout O’Connor’s new single “Too Far Gone” from the release Songs from the Reading Room sparkles with the charge of musicians fixed on realizing a song’s potential.
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It will make a stunning live number when O’Connor has that chance. He’s been an in-demand live performer throughout his native New Zealand for some time and the new single’s strengths are ideal for a talented concert singer to nail. It certainly has a snap on the recording. The drums crack with authority and the production thoroughly integrates the rhythm section into the song’s larger structure. His mandate here isn’t breaking through into new areas of musical expression. “Too Far Gone” covers well-traveled musical territory but never sounds like it’s aping other performers. O’Connor performs like he is the first guy singing with this sort of music and his voice surges with passion.
Each line of the lyric hits hard and doesn’t mince words. O’Connor works with some co-writers, that’s true, but there’s nothing you hear during “Too Far Gone” that sways you from the opinion this is O’Connor, 100 proof, straight no chaser. The chorus is especially good and straight to the point. Each line has a nice percussive sound as well and O’Connor knows how to make the most of that. He never overplays the dramatic aspects of “Too Far Gone” but pushes them just enough to leave a mark on listeners.
The song thankfully understands its own needs and never overreaches. In the hands of a less judicious performer “Too Far Gone” plunges over a cliff into emotional heavy-handedness but O’Connor is not just anyone. The track’s construction reflects this as its individual parts never patter on but, instead, hit their target with a minimum of fuss. It’s not hard to project that the remainder of the album will retain the same focus. Arun O’Connor is, without question, ready to meet this moment in his creative life. His talents are far too big to be confined to New Zealand and its surrounding environs.
He obviously has an effective brain trust working with him as well. Choosing this as his first single introduces the album on an upbeat note and sets it up for later, perhaps slower, singles. Hearing him perform a ballad will be an experience. “Too Far Gone” shows he’s well at home with exploring emotional material with maturity and a willingness to take chances. Songs from the Reading Room will be immeasurably improved from its presence and will likely remain a staple of his repertoire for many years to come. It’s that good.
Colin Jordan
