JP O’Duill, an Irish musician, is releasing his first album called “Nótaí” on June 6th. This album is a collection of songs that looks closely at being human, using honesty, humour, and a quiet hope. “Nótaí” doesn’t avoid tough topics. It asks what it means to try to live a good life, what it takes to stay honest, and what happens when we fail.
Like all good Irish poetry and literature, the album tells stories and uses metaphors to explore love, loss, and the strange joy of thinking about yourself. There’s no anger in the music, just gentle questions about the world and about ourselves.
The music style moves easily between folk, punk, and pop which feels new, different. It’s musically interesting, with unusual chords and tunes that mix new ideas with things that feel easy on the ear. The sound is unique to JP O’Duill – based on Irish folk music, but not limited by it.
The album was recorded in Dublin and features other musicians playing instruments like the concertina, drums, synth, and cello. The songs are influenced by locality, but the themes are bigger. They touch on universal ideas with warmth, humour, and humility.
O’Duill says the album reflects a feeling of being “halfway between the atom and the universe” – thoughtful, caring, and often surprising. “Nótaí” seems like the work of an artist who is not just looking for meaning but finding it in unexpected places. The first single, “Empathy Primates,” already showed O’Duill’s talent for turning complex ideas into songs that are inviting and emotionally powerful. With “Nótaí”, that talent is now fully on display.
9/10
