The plethora of artistic talent in Ireland – be it in the realms of music, dance or the visual arts- remains an undamped factor in preserving the Irish spirit in the face of economic hardships.

The Dublin based alternative/indie rock band White McKenzie is one such promising musical force. Consisting of six local musicians, Kieran O’Reilly, “Ziggy” Zdziarski, Ciaran Cusack, Éamonn Young, Neil O’ Brien and Ian Corr, White McKenzie was originally conceived merely as an exploratory musical collaboration between musicians of diverging musical backgrounds. Nonetheless, the project has since matured to potentially become one of Dublin’s hottest new rock acts.

Indeed, the release of White McKenzie’s debut E.P on 30 September 2011, demonstrates that the musical ventures of White’s skillful musicians have recently assumed a more concrete nature. Appearing under the title ‘Absence’, the album is now available on iTunes, Tower Records Dublin and Amazon to name but the main outlets.

‘Absence’ compiles six original White McKenzie songs that follow an introductory soundscape entitled ‘torment’. The intro, despite the title suggesting otherwise, provides a well-rounded instrumental build-up to ‘on your heels’, a guitar-heavy, fast paced piece. It aptly opens ears and hearts to the songs presented on the album.

‘4 a.m’ continues to grip my very core. Featuring as the third track on the record, the piano intro which then becomes interlaced with soft guitar sounds initially caught my attention. Then, the amazing lyrics of the piece really captivated me. They bear witness to lead singer Kieran O’Reilly’s emerging lyrical talent. The metaphor “neon-soldiers” who are described as “marching from the side of the room” particularly stood out to me, as it is powerfully evocative. This is a song about death, and acceptance at the same time.

A second slow paced favorite of mine is ‘the clock winds on’, which provides another opportunity for pianist Ian Corr to shine. Accompanied by soft guitars and interspersed with trumpets reminiscent of ‘Beirut’ – a band which, as a Tribal Fusion dancer, I highly respect. This song recalls memories of a loved one, and induces nostalgia. These two songs aptly capture White’s current lyrical objectives which are to relate internal processes, and channel life experiences that listeners can intimately relate to.

Songs like ‘crawling the walls’ and ‘the big man’ add to the album’s intrinsic musical maturity. The first features piano sounds coupled with dreamy vocals; the second evokes REM in certain parts. Both certainly contribute to creating an excellent debut E.P.

The only one song which is a bit of a downer, personally, is ‘forget’. While similar in nature to ‘on your heels’, I did not feel the vocals were delivered with consistency. Nonetheless, the quality of all the songs combined point to White McKenzie’s ability to excite the Irish and international (!) music scene in the future.

‘Absence’ suggests that White McKenzie’s current soundprint is a hybrid between Pearl Jam (largely) and Coldplay. While intermittently evoking R.E.M and the National, there is also a healthy splash of Aqualung, producing an Indie-rock flavored broth with commercial tendencies. I thoroughly enjoyed the accomplished musicianship and vocals of ‘Absence’ although the genre would generally not be my first choice.

The album offers strong ballads as lead singer Kieran O’Reilly’s voice nicely compliments the skillfully manipulated instruments and slow songs really seem the band’s forte at present. While I thoroughly enjoyed ‘Absence’, the fast vocals provide some room for improvement. However there are no doubts in my mind that White McKenzie will use the potential shining through in their debut album to reach even further heights in their next.

The synergy of White’s musical talents is not only striking in ‘Absence’ but also in White’s live shows. Their gig in Dublin’s Grand Social on 30 September 2011 engendered a large turnout of enthusiastic supporters cheering the band on. Not only are live performances a testimony to the bands’ joy of music but “Absence” strongly highlights the musical maturity of the six-some.

‘Absence’ is not to be missed for anyone eager to discover new rock acts and White McKenzie promise to sway the Irish music scene with their musical presence in this debut E.P .

Availabe to buy here at iTunes here