Lonely Street Discs [Release date : 28.08.26]

The late Energy Orchard frontman and solo artist Bap Kennedy’s posthumously released ‘Above All, Love’ is an absolute gem of a record.

Overseen by his widow, former band member Brenda Kennedy (an author, artist and songwriter in her own right), the album traces the thin dividing line between Celtic Soul and Nashville, as Bap dives deep into 10 emotively charged Americana tracks on a songsmith’s masterclass.

His world weary and sometimes fragile voice seamlessly matches his simple, but beguiling arrangements which consistently draw the listener in.

And while he effectively uses a familiar Nashville influenced acoustic wash, pedal steel motifs and even a fiddle on ‘Just A Game’, it’s the heartfelt authenticity of his songs that makes this album special.

It’s also a musical journey that takes him from Hank Williams to Van Morrison, though more in the recurring influences rather than in a linear fashion.

Having said that, the opening title track could be Van’s featherlight phrasing, particularly on the chorus which sets out the mission statement for the album as a whole.

It also illustrates his ability to embody lyrical clarity with deep motion: “Love only love, Nothing else is above, It brings peace to your heart and your mind, As you walk on down the years, Through this valley of tears, Love will find you in its own sweet time.”

Bap Kennedy also has that priceless ability to deliver a couplet which can make an immediate connection with his style.

This is so, even when there are echoes of mid-70’s Dylan on the opening line of the afore mentioned ‘It’s Just A Game’: “There’s a hurricane in my heart, Everything I touch falls apart.”

He rare wastes a word, yet alone a phrase, and imbues his message with enough veracity and substance to lead us into the rest of the album.

‘Going Back To Nashville’ owes much to Hank Williams beyond a name check, as he offers us a stylistic allusion consisting of emotionally charged lyrics and dashed hopes, perfectly expressed in the perfunctory chorus: “I love you but I’m leaving, Baby so long goodbye.”

He sometimes surprises us too, as for example, on the big band shuffle swing of ‘Don’t Be Like That’, with its horn stabs, pedal steel, lyrical lust and delicious turns of phrase:

“You got the bread I’ve got the butter, You’re my ticket out of the gutter, I can do it if you’re by my side, But it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

He settles for a Hank Williams feel on ‘Old Majestic Moon’, a Brenda Kennedy co-write and waltz style ballad, with a defining ‘Neath that old majestic moon’ line.

He strips things down on ‘Red Moon’ to just a sonorous voice and acoustic, later joined by cooing bv’s and judicious pedal steel, on a song that draws you into to his evolving narrative.

“I used to walk behind you on the street, But now the world is at my feet.”

He’s never too far away from chipping away at the perfect song with Nashville in his sights, as on ‘Silent Sea’.

It’s a sonorous song with earthy and very deliberately voiced lyrics, which ebb and flow over pedal steel.

It’s a great example of making a line count, as he lets a musical motif rise and then gently decay while on the cusp of his next line, which inexorably leads into the chorus: “Into that silent sea, Reaching ever higher, From a raging fire, To tranquillity.”

The joy of this album is the combination of Kennedy’s story telling ability, his evocative vocals, the explanatory hooks and his fleeting melodies, which lead him to the exquisite ‘Something’s Working On Me.’

A beautifully crafted song, it opens with a chorus that tantalizingly leads us into another heartfelt tale: “Something’s working on me,I can feel it in my bones’, Something working on me, And it won’t leave me alone.”

“Something’s working on me, I feel it in my blood, Something’s working on me, From a trickle to a flood. I went down to the river, And I tried to get across, I went down to the river, It was deeper than I thought.”

The fact the opening melody reminds me of The Troggs ‘Love Is All Around’, let alone with some Dylan style phrasing can’t deflect from a wonderfully crafted song.

The closing ‘A’Town’ is a distant vocal hybrid of Jackson Browne and Van Morrison.

He uses an uplifting guttural inflection, to help pick up the pace of a reflective autobiographical song and finish a memorable album with a flourish. *****

Review by Pete Feenstra

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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JAMES KENNEDY & THE UNDERDOGS Shadows (Konic Records)
KATH & THE KICKS Sleep (indie)
VELVETEEN QUEEN Too Far Gone (Silver Lining Music)
SESAME GIRL Prettiest Girl In The World (indie)

Featured Albums w/c 3 August 2026

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

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