Music Review: Change, For a Fiver

Barry G

Barry G is an Irish singer, songwriter and impressive strummer of strings who is a familiar figure on the Southern Lakes music scene.

His first album, Change, For a Fiver, showcases everything his audiences love in his live performances to great effect. There’s his voice, which has an endlessly listenable Passenger vibe, except with a Dublin accent; his songwriting, which delivers fully-realised stories and cracking singalongs; and his humour. 

The album ranges in tone from the haunting ‘Bedsheets & Souls’ (I’m guessing it’s about the horrific legacy of Ireland’s homes for unmarried mothers) to ‘Electrolytes & Electric Bikes’, which tells the tale of a 63-year-old who wins the Tour de France on an electric bicycle. It’s punctuated by the percussive ringing of a bike bell.

The standout, though, is ‘Slow Down Today’. The track ends in a choral refrain that makes everything better every time I hear it. I know, I’m listening right now. “Slow down today, go down to the water, wash those thoughts away.” Thanks Barry, I think I will.

LAURA WILLIAMSON

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ALBUM ART: Cris Pliego, @cris.banana

Laura Williamson Avatar
Laura Williamson
A writer, songwriter and poet based in Central Otago, Laura Williamson is the editor of 1964: mountain culture / aotearoa. She co-wrote The Blue Moments Project song and spoken word cycle, and her book The Bike and Beyond: Life on Two Wheels in Aotearoa New Zealand is out now as part of the BWB Text series.

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