Damien Rice - '9' (14th Floor) Released 06/11/06

The astounding success of Damien Rice's debut album 'O' looks to be eclipsed by the beauty and potency of his second album, '9'. ‘O’ flooded the high water mark with sales of 1 million in the U.K. and 10 times platinum in Ireland, the Dublin-born artist providing a narrative stage-lighting for many a relationship with songs such as 'Blower's Daughter', 'Volcano' and 'Cold Water'. On '9', Damien Rice explores further the themes of emotional veracity and personal-integrity with his rawest and gutsiest tracks yet, with vulnerability and catharsis delving deeper into the soul-maps of the emotional nature.

'9 Crimes' sets the scene with co-singer Lisa Hannigan opening the verses with slow piano and a raised emotional barometer, verses twisting and turning with Damien - "...leave me out with the waste/ this is not what I do/ it's the wrong kind of place/ to be cheating on you...it's small crime/ and I've got no excuse..." - addressing the wrongdoing, guilt and regret with underscoring cello - "...is that all right/ yeah/ give my gun away/ when it's loaded...is that all right/ with you/ - No!" - kinda sticks in the throat. 'Elephant' features Vyvienne Long on cello with Damien's voice unfettered, wild yet masterly in expression and poignancy - the band struck pell-mell for one verse and the opening/closing - "This has got to die/ this has got to stop/ this has got to lie down...". The folky 'Rootless Tree' sounds all genteel and humdinger till the chorus strikes - "...**** you/ **** you..." lucid with rage, tangled and confused, affronted and self-determining with liberating orchestration - "...let me out/ let me out/ let me out// **** you / **** you...", like riding the black waters.

'Coconut Skins' brings comparisons with the bearded-bard's 'Desolation Row' - an affirmative and chipper acoustic guitar strum, pregnant with poetic-imagery of the inner-life's complexities and a singalong jauntiness - "...you can sit on chimneys/ with some fire up your ass/ no need to know what your doing/ or what your waiting for...", Damien addressing life incarnate and soul-embodied, "...you can lie between her legs/ and go looking for/ tell her you're searching for her soul...".