Damien Rice, O (2003) - is its music colourless like its cover?

This debut album from Damien Rice is certainly out to make a lasting impression. 'O' will leave you clenching onto fractured emotions as you gaze with a pensive and contemplative stare. As the acoustic tension peeks, it is released at moments of extreme suspense.

Damien's acoustic guitar quietly opens the album's first track, Delicate, and initially hopes are somewhat subdued. Very little is revealed about his style of music in the opening track. The gentle strums from his acoustic guitar hides any room for direct criticism. The smooth cello of Vyvienne Long consistently provides streams of warming melodies against the sustained chord progressions from Damien's acoustic guitar.

Damien's folk style, laced with an Irish accent, tells a less obvious tale. The words "What am I... darling," bellowed on Cheers Darlin' portrays a harrowing fable of a man love-struck, lonely and drunk.

I Remember gives the album an epic overtone in contrast to an overall mellow distinction; a 'must see' live performance. The deathly slow Eskimo closes the album and acts as a pleasant relaxant from some spin chilling moments experienced in previous numbers.

Ages like a fine wine - Faith Venus electro/acoustic

How do you know if two years down the line you won't be forced, on your own accord, to smash it into bits? Well it's hard to know how the sound of the guitar will change but it certainly will be different to what it is new. It is, like this title suggests, a fine wine that simply matures with age. The wood gets tarnished with sunlight and the air does somehow deepen it's voice - it's like it smokes when your not around.

I might be talking gibberish but it makes sense to me. I own the Faith Venus electro/acoustic and I brought it for its looks. Costing little over the £300 mark and as long as the rusty strings that it fashioned in the shop sounded okay I took it.

My focus was on it's size. This guitar has a smaller body then most, although not the size of a travellers guitar, I got uncomfortable wrapping my arm around regular acoustics for long enduring practise sessions.

The rewarding aspect to holding onto one guitar for years is seeing it's character grow, like the wrinkles of wisdom on a persons face, the guitars marks and scratches are signs of its honesty and intent. It now has a preference.