Our Krypton Son

"An artist with a vision of creating more than just a formulaic pop song. A breathtaking nugget just waiting to be discovered" - [Charlotte Dryden - The Fly]

"Our Krypton Son, a prodigious talent, merging superb musicianship with a great pop sensibility. Think Ben Folds meets Ray Davies and you're definitely in for a treat." - [Joe Lindsay - BBC Radio Ulster]

Chris McConaghy aka Our Krypton Son hails from Derry, Northern Ireland where he first cut his first musical teeth with psychobilly art-rockers Red Organ Serpent Sound. Having graduated unscathed from those rambunctious ranks, Chris established his songwriting credentials as an acoustic solo act sharing stages with David Kitt, Gemma Hayes, Jape and Cashier No. 9 around the Irish club circuit. Gathering plaudits as a writer of note, Chris gathered close musician friends together in early 2010 to create Our Krypton Son and record a debut album of the same name, from which this lead single is taken.

Recorded in a large industrial warehouse (an asphalt roofing factory to be precise) and produced by Sam Williams (Supergrass, Plan B, The Noisettes, Tricky, Kula Shaker and The Go Team), Our Krypton Son's muse traverses the songscapes of Wilco, Costello, Bowie, Waits and Orbison. McConaghy's voice is at times fragile and glacial and on occasion shimmers romanctically in rare, Irish sunlight. "There isn't a central concept lyrically on the album," states Chris "memory, time, love, death, work, jealousy - the usual shit really."

McConaghy's songs are the shining stars of this show, as lead single 'Catalonian Love Song' details in extraordinary fashion. Fragments of the writer's past relationships nestle alongside the artist's hopes and dreams for the future. It's a heady, dreamy and blissful mix.

So what about that band name? "I wanted a pseudonym and my girlfriend and I were watching Superman II" explains Chris, "there's a bit where General Zod says 'I like the glow that flashes red like our Krypton sun' - Jules is a massive Superman fan and threatened to dump me if I opted for something else. It doesn't suggest a certain style of music or artist, which I'm a fan of - I like to keep people guessing."

Guessing is no longer required on our part, as Our Krypton Son's secret is out - songs to share with friends and lovers - a soundtrack to all our lives.

"Our Krypton Son is one of the best songwriters i've ever heard. The songs blaze with originality - lyrically, they capture a truth that you've always known by making it feel like you're hearing for the first time. The blend of muted trumpet, sweeping piano and delicate acoustic guitar evokes other places and even films awhile, at the same time, anchored by a voice that is uniquely unaffected and understated and all the more striking as a result. Our Krypton Son is a serious contender. This is the real thing." - [Stephen McCauley - BBC Radio Ulster - Electric Mainline]