Fionn Regan
The End Of History
Etch'n'Sketch


'The End Of History' is the debut album for Irish singer-songwriter Fionn Regan - and what a debut it is. Over twelve tracks Regan weaves an almost hypnotic mood of pessimism, forlornness and just a tinge of light and hope. It's certainly not the most positive, uplifting or cheerful album in recent memory, but it is one of the most heartbreakingly honest and beautiful.

"At night time I'd live in Beckenham Park/With tears like flashbulbs/And recall my treasure searching days in the rock-pools as a kid," he sings in Put A Penny In The Slot, strumming his guitar softly, backed by only the most minimal instrumentation through the song's bridge. This is the case right throughout the album, as Regan's voice takes the lead, with the odd violin, backing vocal or patter of drums creeping in and out of the songs in a way that seems almost organic.

Regan's roots are clearly in folk, but his ability to twist pop melody into his songs without it losing any of its emotional impact, or sounding trite, is impressive. Even the album's nadir, Hey Spider, in which Regan's lyrics take a slight turn for the pedestrian in an animal referencing three-and-a-half minutes, is still affecting and listenable.

Snowy Atlas Mountains is where Regan really finds his style, though - a winding tale that shows his ability for storytelling and phrasing, doing so with a haunting and eerily tangible sense of threat in his Irish accent.

'The End Of History' is an enormously confident and assured debut and with good reason; Regan is an immense talent and this album suggests that there's plenty more to come from him in the future. And if 'The End Of History' is any guide, that sounds like a very welcome prospect.

Alistair Wallis