“It ain’t so bad livin’ in the ocean / if you’re like me, you know where you’re goin’,” Connor T. Hennessy sings on his debut EP, Another Year. The album is full of the tumultuous rocking that comes from waves off shore. Wanting something to believe in, but not sure what. Wanting someone to stay with him, but not sure they will. Wanting to sing his song, but not sure if anyone’s gonna listen. He’s catchy, in a Jack Johnson sort of way, and he’s honest in his lyrics and confident in his delivery, so there’s certainly substance to grab onto. The arrangements are simple, mostly him and his acoustic guitar, but like he knows where he’s going, he knows how to use his voice to its full potential.
There is a sweet video of his single, “Believe In Me,” where he gets stuck out in the woods because he’s ran out of gas and walks home in the rain. At the end of the video, he calls a friend to ask them to help him out, but we’re not sure as viewers if they answer that call. The video captures the feeling of the EP perfectly. His adventurous heart beset with trouble, a reaching out but not knowing if the other person is gonna help. But Connor is committed to the journey and has the talent and the heart to give him a fighting chance.
Connor says about the album, “If you’re willing to give your attention to the ‘now,’ you have access to a state of well-being that you don’t have if you’re constantly ruminating on what happened before or leaning into the moments yet to come.” He strikes that balance on this record, between anxious rumination and carefree living. He is certainly trying to be himself, and “jump off this old ship.”
Most of all, even beyond his desire for something to believe in, he wants someone to believe in him, “the way that I believe in you.” That is the challenge of many artists, they already believe in their listeners or viewers. That’s why all of this heart and work goes into pieces. But the hope is, that the feeling’s mutual. That’s how this whole transaction works. Connor writes the songs, you sing along (or buy his t-shirts or go to his shows or tell other people about him, you know). It’s pretty clear that this is his first album, with the over-repetition of themes, with some of the cliches in lyrics and songwriting, with his appeal time and again to give him a chance. But it is overall a strong introduction to an interesting soul. He has tenacity and that alone is worth seeing, someone who has set themselves on fire so that we can watch them burn.
Prism Reviews 