Ricky Warwick was born in Newtownards, Northern Ireland. So what? So, ome would assume it'd a matter of time for him to honour his homeland via some more acoustic/folk music. The (once) frontman of the excellent rockers THE ALMIGHTY has long gone settled down to more mild music making, but but but...if you're true at heart you can't go wrong, isn't this what many people say? To my ears, Ricky Warwick has proved to be more than an honest artist, letting you just decide whether you fancy his music or not.
This is Ricky's third studio solo album, three(?) years after the Love Many Trust Few CD. This time the tattooed boy has extended his horizons to Irish folk paths while - of course - preserving the 'man and guitar' artistic/poetic wisdom. His voice sounds even more mature, yet old comrades shall recognize the rust inside. At times the tracklist becomes quite emotional and - even not having the songs' lyrics available - it seems there's a 'city poetry' attribute apparent in many of the album's tunes. Listening to Belfast Confetti for a couple of times more, names like Billy Joel, Phil Lynott, Tom Petty, Lou Reed, Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, Tom waits and Johnny Cash crossed my mind.
Belfast Confetti is a collection of stories, my own, my family's and my friends', most of whom are now scattered all over the world, but when talk turns to home, their eyes light up and the reminiscing begins, states Ricky in a Press release. Would not disagree on this one. Since the days of his hardhittin' punk-ish Hard Rock adventures are long gone, the path he now walks on seems to be something more of a fitting shelter. Really hope I could grab the chance to see him playing with his guitar in a warm cafe on a rainy evening. You get the picture?

P.S.: The use of violin and harmonica is added value/magic, for sure...