EP Review: Born To Perform

Dónal Gunning‘s travels, since leaving his native Ireland, have seen him eventually relocate to Wellington, where he has been regularly gigging as a solo artist, and with backing band The Bucks. The Bucks are comprised of a collective of Wellington session musicians and have also accompanied Dónal on two north Island tours, delivering fun and energetic shows. His EP Born To Perform has just been released, featuring 2023 single Homesick.

The first of the three tracks is I Need You, a heartfelt and plaintive love song, playful and poppy, with fantastic lyrical imagery. The chorus burrows straight through your eardrums and worms its way into your frontal lobes, this will have audiences singing along before they know it, I know I was. I Need You gradually builds in power and pace throughout its 2’37” duration, predominantly acoustic guitar and Dónal’s strong vocals, rich in warmth and character.

Homesick is up next, a song inspired by friends and travel. A somewhat more reflective and thoughtful offering by comparison, a song delivering all the poignant longing of a soul missing from its homeland. Once again, his skill as a lyricist is amply demonstrated, and in addition to the vocals and guitar, this time some accompanying strings add extra layers of colour and beauty, all infused with the depth of emotion implied by the title.

Final track Stadium Song has an almost country-like feel to the introduction, which blossoms into a sweet indie-folk song, that superb voice delivering yet another set of wonderfully descriptive and relatable lyrics, over all too soon at 1’52” duration, a song of reminiscence and connection.

For information regarding upcoming shows, check out his Facebook page. To check out this fantastic EP, here’s a Spotify link. You’ll be so glad you did, trust me.