Spotlight Artist: Moncrieff
We adore finding new and upcoming Irish Music Acts here at Our Muchness Guide. Today, April 16th, in a parallel non COVID-19 world, Niamh should be attending her very first Moncrieff gig but the world had other plans. Of course, the gig got rescheduled to September but I thought, to mark the day that should have been, we’d make a blog post dedicated to the amazingly talented Moncrieff!
For anyone who hasn’t heard of him, Moncrieff is a singer-songwriter from Co. Waterford. His stagename is Moncrieff but Chris Brehany has truly captured audiences far and wide. Although from Waterford, he moved to London to pursue music when he was nineteen years old. A move that countless musicians do but for Moncrieff paid off. His insane, pinch me moment can be summed up as Elton John giving his single ‘Symptoms’ a spin on his radio programme, this led to BBC Radio One picking up the single.
Although our neighbours across the pond began to champion one of our own, the radio DJs back in Ireland were only too happy to support him too. This has resulted in some truly amazing on air performances and interviews. Two of my favourite performances are covers. This first is his from his TodayFM performance where he did a cover of ‘Dance Monkey’ by Tones and I and when I say the song has found new meaning… it really has, it can be found HERE. My second favourite is his RTÉ 2fm Studio 8 cover performance of Selena Gomez’s ‘Lose You to Love Me’ and it can be found HERE. While the crown for ‘in social distancing’ interview and performance goes to Spin for their Instagram live. Far play guys, it was a fun one even with putting Moncrieff on the spot for another song. That’s live music for you ladies and gentlemen!
To date, Moncrieff has an EP entitled ‘The Early Hurts’ which is out in the world and a number of singles. For the enthusiastic music lovers, I decided to sum up my thoughts on each song. The aspects of Moncrieff’s songs I adore are his raw emotion through his lyrics, his harmonies and the storytelling aspect to his songs. Anyone who knows me knows how much of a sucker I am for this type of Singer-Songwriter but I do hope to persuade you to check out his music.
The Early Hurts – EP
This EP came out in 2019. It contains six amazing songs which, compositionally and lyrically, can stand alone by themselves but, in my honest opinion, pairing these songs together collectively on The Early Hurts was a genius move for Moncrieff. The feel of the EP is a coming of age story. I would suggest to set aside some time, sit down and take in each song one right after the other.
- ‘Ghost’ – Starting strong with my favourite song by Moncrieff. It’s the song I recommend to everyone when talking about Moncrieff and his music. This song tells the story about his love story with an ex. I think it is safe to say, we have all been there when it comes to the emotions of this one. Keep an ear out for how this one starts and the harmonies intertwined into this song.
- ‘Like I Do’ – The one anyone who listens to the radio (regardless of radio station here in Ireland) is going to recognize. Take a leaf from your teenage angst days and blare this one if your crush has someone else or doesn’t know that you exist! If you are fortunate enough to have said crush, listen to this one anyway! The emotion portrayed everytime in this one gets to me. I also adore the beat behind this one.
- ‘With All Due Respect – Like I Do Reprise’ – Firstly, I melt when it comes to stripped back versions of songs or just stripped back songs. For this song, it starts with just Moncrieff and a Piano. It is the shortest song on the EP at 1:16 but I can’t imagine the EP without it.
- ‘I Don’t Know Why’ – It is just him and a guitar for this one. Listen closely to the lyrics for this one. His emotion is going to shine through for the first listen or two but, trust me…, it is going to hit you a lot harder when you know the lyrics behind the emotion.
- ‘Villains’ – Yass, just Yass! ‘Villains’ slays! Is that appropriate to say? From the start of this number, you are going to be hooked. The song that holds the most soul for me as a listener. This is the song I look forward to seeing live because I can imagine it being the ‘big number’ in a set. (That might be just me but everyone is allowed to imagine right?). I enjoy the story within this one and all the different musical concepts that fit together nicely to give this song its showstopper feel.
- ‘Guns and Bibles’ – This is the song that truly took me by surprise when listening to the EP for the first time. It is a different message and story compared to the rest of the songs on the EP. In this day and age, I think it captures an important topic for young people today. The music behind the lyrics is upbeat in parts and the harmonies are mesmerizing but I would urge you… after taking in the awesomeness of this song, please, focus on the lyrics.
Additional Singles:
- ‘Serial Killer’ – This single came out in 2018 and the story within the lyrics for this one always hits a bit close to home every time for me; the metaphors are fantastic in songs and this one is exceptionally done. I adore Moncrieff’s voice in this one. Yes, his unique style shines through in each song but how he sings this one will have your breath catching in your throat; if you went through a relationship similar to his. Also he does something in this song that leaves an eerie effect… It gives me goosebumps every time.
- ‘Symptoms’ – The one that started it all. As stated above ‘Symptoms’ was game changing for Moncrieff! Personally, I enjoy every aspect of this song… the lyrics, the music and the overall vibe of the song. When listening to this one, I suggest to blare it out via a speaker. The reason for this being that there are so many different components of this song that your first true impact of this song should be enjoyed from all angles.
In terms of my favourite memory with Moncrieff’s music, I think a lot of people are creating memories similar to me in recent weeks. My favourite memory to date is seeing Moncrieff performing via an Instagram Live for Hotpress Magazine. It was fun to see an artist performing when you take away the stage, the lights and truly get lost in the music! *Disclaimer here* He did have a laptop and projector cast a picture and effects onto the wall which, even with it not going to plan at times, really made the audience smile at how much thought he put into adding a ‘wow factor’ for his audience stuck at home.
Lastly, three things to take away from this phenomenal Artist:
- Firstly, Moncrieff has a new single coming out tomorrow ‘In My Room” in aid of the ISPCC. I for one am excited to hear this song by this fantastic singer-songwriter. The fact the proceeds are going to charity, I vote you take a chance on this artist and buy it!
- Secondly, Moncrieff’s Dublin Headline Show in the Academy got rescheduled to September 12th and there are still a limited number of tickets left available here. If you were to check out one Irish Artist after all the mayhem in the world right now finishes, I would highly recommend Moncrieff because this artist is only going to get bigger and bigger. Go see him at a smaller venue to truly appreciate his voice before you have to contend with crowds of people. Also, our bae Ruthanne is supporting him! Guys, the ticket price is a steal to see these two breathtakingly phenomenal artists do their thing!
- Lastly, Moncrieff’s music got recommended to me by someone dear so I am going to be THAT friend urging you to listen to his music. You shouldn’t just want to check out his music, you NEED to check out his music and you can find it here.
Until next time, stay safe, mind yourselves and get lost in the music.
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