Monday 26 August 2019

Mark Hegan - Skyward


It's great to get new music from an artist that we've been fans of on The Metaphorical Boat in different guises. One of the Northern Irish acts that we were really excited about was In An Instant, who released some great songs that melded together indie-rock with electronic elements extremely well, like "All Binds Fall Undone", "Where The Demons & The Devils Speak", and a track that ended up in our Top 10 Songs of 2014, "Something Right & Something Real". Alas, like many local acts, the band called it a day not too long after releasing their final single in 2016 without gaining the wider attention that they definitely deserved.

Fast forward three years, one of the members of that band, Mark Hegan, has just released his debut single under his own name, "Skyward", having re-located from Bangor to London. If like me, you were a fan of In An Instant, then you will instantly enjoy this new track, as it is not a million miles away from the music he was producing in his old group. It's not as upbeat as prior songs he's been involved with, although given that the song's about isolation and feelings of losing one's identity, but it still successfully melds of electronic and rock elements in a great way. In particular, we do enjoy the little guitar licks, which reminds us of Mark Knopfler's solo works.

In An Instant may not have had the success I would have wanted them to, but Mark Hegan has shown with his debut single that he's still got some great tunes in him.

"Skyward" is out now.