Rú – Magpie

Rú is a new side project of Ruairi Connolly, a singer-songwriter known for his post-punk outlet Haha Hear Hear. “Magpie” is his first piece of work with this recently established project that showcases the other side of his creative spectrum. Lyrically, Rú explores themes of love, loss, and resilience, so it’s a highly relatable composition that will unquestionably resonate with the broader auditorium. Sonically, Rú dives deep into the fundamentals of indie rock music while infusing his debut sign with some of the finest properties borrowed from many different but complementary music genres such as dream pop, power pop, alternative pop, synth pop, etc. Ruairi Connolly incorporates all these additional sonic ingredients with such precision and finesse, paying attention to even the tiniest details and nuances along the way, so the pleasant listening experience is more than guaranteed. The way the indie core seamlessly blends with all those pop subgenres goes beyond comprehension. You’ll also notice how at some points this track leans towards some late eighties and early nineties shoegaze and alternative rock sound, with all those calm, soothing, relaxing, ethereal, echoic instrumentations pervading the listening apparatus from all the possible sides. Rú’s music continuously levitates between nostalgia and modern sound, making “Magpie” such an incredible song that will unquestionably appeal to even the pickiest listeners.

From the onset, “Magpie” wraps around your ears and refuses to let go long after it ends. It’s one of those tracks where marvelous vocal harmonies, intricate chord progressions, mesmerizing synths, and groovy beats create a catchy, memorable, engaging experience worth repeating over and over again. Ruairi Connolly paid a lot of attention while working on the song structure, so you’ll notice how all those profoundly detailed segments, brilliant ideas, and incredible orchestrations collide harmoniously throughout the entire track. Still, Ruairi Connolly’s passionate, sincere, confident, emotive, powerful vocal performance steals the show here. These vocal harmonies command attention and guide the listening apparatus from scratch to finish, decorating everything this creative artist intended to achieve with his song. His voice seamlessly glides over low, mid, and high notes with such precision and finesse, emphasizing all the segments and instrumentations. In the meantime, the interplay between synths and guitars shapes a perfect backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon. You’ll notice how the memorable synth leads, themes, melodies, harmonies, and other sonic delicacies perfectly match arpeggiated and regular chord progressions delivered on acoustic and electric guitars. The generous servings of studio reverb give that echoic vibes, usually hearable in shoegaze and dream pop music. This addition perfectly suits the dreamy atmosphere, spicing things up and elevating the entire song to new heights. Also, it’s nearly mindblowing how all these synth and guitar interplays suit Ruairi Connolly’s vocals harmoniously. Together, they contribute to the emotional depth and complexity of an already intricate composition. 

Of course, this number wouldn’t sound this good without an equally impressive rhythm section. Although subtle, the basslines are vividly hearable in the mix, providing more power to those guitar layers. These low-ends are warm, rich, dense, and heavy, contributing to the luxuriant ambiance of their presence. All the heaviness, clarity, and depth come from the bass guitar, and Rú put a lot of effort into working on these instrumental layers. Drumming is another standout feature that lifts orchestrations to an entirely new level. The comprehensive collection of tastefully assembled, flawlessly performed, well-accentuated, groovy beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics keeps the remainder of the instrumentations in line while dictating groove and tempo. Rú thought about everything while writing, composing, arranging, and producing his debut single. The experience earned through his previous musical outlets is vividly hearable here, as all the ideas and musicianship play a significant role in shaping such a beautiful, catchy, memorable, engaging ambiance that grabs you by the collar and refuses to let go. Ruairi Connolly proves once again he’s a fascinating singer-songwriter whose creativity, talent, skills, and ideas go beyond comprehension. He continuously pushes boundaries and breaks the rules of several music genres in order to deliver some of the finest indie tunes to the table. He ultimately succeeded in his intentions, as “Magpie” is one of the finest songs you’ll hear this year. The single is available on all streaming platforms. Don’t miss it!