The gentle vocals and delightful fingerpicking of James O'Malley are back! You can hear the influence of the music of his youth and especially The Beatles. His voice will remind you of Paul Simon, but his art as a singer/songwriter is all his own. His songs reveal a kind outlook as he reflects on significant moments of his life. Over the years some of the sweetest songs in his catalogue were inspired by Patricia, his wife of 52 years. One can only imagine how devastating it must have been to lose the light of his life when she passed away in 2022. Much of Ivyland is a tribute to her and an appreciation of the love they shared. The opening track, “Did You Ever Hear Her Sing Hallelujah” shows him urgent to share heart-filling details of her. “Did you know she collected angels?/ More than one in every room of the house.”
O’Malley’s songwriting is strongly melodic and at home in a variety of styles. “Laughter and Love” is a lush piano and strings ballad in which he counts his blessings in quintessentially disarming James O’Malley style, “I grew up with a Mom I grew up with a Dad/ I was raised in their love...who could ask for more than that?” “Belle of the Ball” has an infectious pop-Cajun rhythm. “Jamaica Bay” celebrates the beauty of the seashore of his youth in a way that would sound good at a Parrothead happy hour. “Finally Free” has a strong “With a Little Help From My Friends” vibe that goes well with the theme of moving on from darker days. If you have reached the age when, as O’Malley puts it in “Laughter and Love,” “We say more goodbyes than hellos,” this album will mean more to you than the sum of its catchy tunes. —Michael Devlin
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