The “who’s who” of Ireland’s rising stars in the music industry have come together to support Cycle Against Suicide, a charity group raising awareness for the growing mental health issue plaguing the country.
Cycle Against Suicide is a charity group formed to offer reassurance that “it’s ok not to feel ok, and it’s ok to ask for help.” The team are looking to help those who suffer in silence, as they spread the word it shows strength, as opposed to weakness, to reach out for help with mental health. Cycle Against Suicide’s latest endeavour is a collection of tracks supporting the cause, the majority of which were unheard of up until now.
‘Simple Things’ starts off with the album’s title track, a beautiful collaboration that urges listeners to “just remember the simple things”. The song is sung by all the artists featured on the album, including Bressie, Gavin James, Orla Gartland and Hudson Taylor. This is an excellent opening to the album, immediately setting the tone for the following songs. I can only hope ‘Simple Things’ goes viral, as it is the perfect song to lead the charge against Ireland’s tragic suicide problem.
Up next, we’re treated to Heathers. The twin sisters have recently been featured in Fáilte Ireland’s advertising campaign with their song ‘Remember When’. This time around, they give us a sneak peak at their new album, ‘Kingdom’, in the form of the lead single ‘Forget Me Knots’. This song manages to represent the cause superbly as the girls reassure you “it’s alright not to feel okay!”
Former Blizzards frontman Bressie hugely impresses with the album’s stand-out song ‘Silence is Your Saviour’. This is, again, a preview of his album ‘Rage and Romance’. The track explores how not opening up about your problems may ultimately lead to silence becoming the biggest obstacle when trying to overcome an issue.
The album closes with The Original Rudeboys’ fan favourite ‘Sunny Days’, which was written about the band’s close friend, Keith Monaghan, who took his own life in 2009. Stemming from personal experience, this song is one of the most lyrically emotional and well written on the record. It also shows the variety of music available on ‘Simple Things’, all the while for a good cause.
‘Simple Things’ hasn’t got a bad tune on it, though it suffers a little bit as it relies almost completely on downbeat songs and ballads. While this is understandable given the tone of the record, one or two upbeat tracks would have been welcome with open arms! In saying this, the album does its job perfectly to raise awareness for Cycle Against Suicide and the issues they are battling.
I thoroughly recommend picking this album up, if not to support the amazing talent presented on it, to help Cycle Against Suicide in their efforts to raise awareness for mental health and suicide prevention.
For more information and to make donations, visit Cycle Against Suicide at http://www.cycleagainstsuicide.com.
Watch a group performance of the title collaboration track on RTE’s Saturday Night Show below:
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