It's taken Liam Trappe five years to craft his debut, but good things apparently come to those who wait. The Kildare man may have named his musical venture after little-known American Olympic athlete Sunder Nix, but with any luck this album won't fade into a similar obscurity. Taking in uplifting orchestral pop ( Brasserie ), leisurely piano compositions that nod to Neil Hannon and Ben Folds ( When the Morning Comes, Spiders ) and sure-footed, full-band alt.rock compositions ( Killing Time ), Trappe enlists a multitude of friends to drum, harmonise and sharpen focus on these colourful, melodic songs. Zany instrumental Siddhartha Highway is a standout, shifting the focus from piano and guitar to studio effects not unlike something Irish band 8 Ball may have once conjured up. An album that hits the sweet spot time and time again.
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Download: Brasserie, Siddhartha Highway