Mentioned in Dispatches: Island Perimeter – Route 500

Now, I’m not for one moment suggesting that Rout 500 is drawing on the likes of Damien Rice here, but there is a lot going on that I also find endearing that they both have in common. The ambient understatements, the passionate drifting, drawn-out vocals, its windswept nature, the carefully chosen and sparse and elemental words, the sense of mystery and intimacy. And more.

But, like I say, this isn’t an accusation; even if inspiration is found in that quarter, it would seem a celebration rather than a steal. But if some of the individual elements might seem familiar, the overall song is nothing if not fresh, new and belonging to its creator. And that balance of fresh and familiar, then and now, is precisely how music always moves on.