EP Review: Somebody's Child - '20-Something'
Somebody’s Child — or more specifically, Irish newcomer Cian — has just released his debut EP, 20-Something. It’s a little rough, it’s incredibly raw, and, more than anything, it’s blatantly hungry for more.
Somebody’s Child has been going from strength to strength over the past years. A string of incredible singles has led to Cian and his equally talented band finally starting to get the recognition they so deserve. Currently sitting at a whisker shy of 100k monthly listeners on Spotify — at least partially down to their deserved radio features with the likes of John Kennedy of Radio X and Jack Saunders from BBC Radio One, as much as it is to their uniquely brilliant sound — they have just released their debut EP 20-Something. But these new songs signify some pretty major growth in their sound. Cian’s grippingly raspy vocals still take centre stage, as they should, but the actual musicality is a lot more refined; the tracks gleam with polish that, although at times threaten to overwhelm you, ultimately leaves each track as slick as anyone could ever hope.
Nowhere is this more obvious than the lead single from the EP, ‘We Could Start A War’. Admittedly, I am an unabashed sucker for songs that build; but We Could Start A War is something else. It takes the mould, perfects it, and then shatters it. Cian’s surprisingly tender lyrics hide a sense of angry disillusionment, as the guitars and drums build to a fever pitch; his vocals, then, act to masterfully bind it all together, as his soft questioning builds into a near-screamed fear of the looming threat of war. Interestingly, the track was written in those halcyon days pre-Lockdown — yet its significance seems to have only grown as the ineptitude of our world leaders is revealed.
The other single, Hold Me Like You Wanna, acts almost as a response; a reprieve from the terror in lieu of a wistful love song, about the people we care about. A gentle riff of open strings characterises what seems to be their attempt at New Wave; it’s a soothing track that wraps you up in a cocoon of hope that you can’t help but be swept up by, as Cian reflects on feelings lost.
EP opener TV screens is yet another tonal shift: fast paced, it’s closer to the theme of a sun-drenched show set in a surfing paradise than its chronological contemporaries. “I’ve been living in a bubble”, Cian declares: “I’ve been lost”. His hope of finding the meaning of life through television might be a little far-fetched, but it still remains a perfect reflection of the societal zeitgeist; the need to fade into distracting oblivion, trying to piece together the truth from the snippets and snapshots of real life flashing across our screens.
The final track of the EP, ‘Y.M.A.W.B.I.L’, is a cathartic, raucous affair, with a simple hook — you might as well be in love — being screamed over pounding drums and practically oozing energy and passion over the almost devastatingly short three minutes. It reflects a tightness in the band that belies their still relatively newness.
But more than anything, 20-Something is Cian at his most honest. “20-Something is the first real taste of who I want to be as an artist and as a songwriter... Everything before this has just been to test the waters”, Cian describes. “This is what I’m really about.”
Along with this new EP, Cian has also announced that he and his majorly talented band are now signed to Scruff of the Neck for their next EP, AND announced their first ever UK and Ireland tour, at the end of March next year. With pre-sales already starting to sell out, you better be quick if you want to snap up tickets yourself and see a band sure to blow up — and it’s sure to be sooner than later.
Words by James O’Sullivan