The vinyl word on...David Keena's 'A Begginers Guide to Bravery'

The first time I heard the name ‘David Keenan’ was from a house mate as he played ‘Keep The Peace, Prepare for War’ on his record player in a dingy college house in Dundalk.  The modern-day troubadours’ voice was raw, gripping and full of emotion.  A local Dundalk boy, David Keenan is on the road to stardom and the name on everyone’s lips.  Rightly so after four years in the making, Keenan describes ‘The Beginners Guide to Bravery’, as being ‘An Evolution of being a human the last four years’ giving us a look into this thoughts, his experiences in love and loss and musical progression.  His lyricism flows effortlessly beautiful with passion exuding from his raspy virtuosic voice alongside a talented mix of musicians in his band.

A folk-rock feel with gloriously orchestrated arrangements, this album produced by Irish producer Gavin Glass grabs at the heart strings opening the mind to past memories of love, loss, rebellion and the questions of existence.  One song that stood out to me was “Origins of The World”, the strings are so beautifully placed throughout with a hard unexpected yet magical outro which captures the listeners attention.  “Subliminal Dublinia” sees Keenan using his platform to speak up about current issues while the video shows him being followed by buskers, tourists and Dublin natives crying “Occupy the city with original ideas”. 

Every track on this album takes me down another street of Keenan’s home town of Dundalk, filling me with nostalgia of my days there, listening to young aspiring musicians in the Spirit Store, trad evenings in The Bartender and the 3am jamming sessions in the kitchen of that college house I first heard David Keenan’s voice.

These are the talented and choice words of Hollie Delhan in our store in Scotch Hall SC, Drogheda. 

David Keenan's 'A Beginner's Guide to Bravery' is available now on CD & Vinyl at goldendiscs.ie and in all Golden Discs stores nationwide.