Until hearing “Restrain,” we were not
aware of the vocal charisma or production wizardry in the music from Dessie
Magee. The song is the title track of his debut EP. Armed with the newly established appreciation of his skills, we marched into an expedition for other songs from Dessie Magee. It was quickly apparent that “Restrain” does
not stand as the only single that should be added to a playlist of songs that
feature power vocals and strategically placed guitar conquests. We also strongly
recommend “Life Design."
“Restrain” introduces itself as a vocals-driven
single. The accompanying instruments at the start are gentle, particularly the
skillfully played acoustic guitar. A hint that the electric guitar will play a significant
role is dropped at 0:40, when a high pitch guitar becomes increasingly noticeable.
But it isn’t until 1:29 that Dessie Magee unleashes the guitar layering that
characterizes his sound. And it’s not until 3:34 that “Restrain” temporarily
becomes a turbulent whirlpool of guitar. It was his voice which generated a magnetic
force that initially drew us to “Restrain;” then the guitars caused our
attention to enter into an orbit around the single.
The lyrical message also deserves praise.
The lyrics are included at the bottom of this post. Dessie Magee explains:
“’Restrain’ is about the discipline we all
sometimes lack, some more than others. It's about watching someone you care
about not looking after themselves or being aware of why you yourself may be
going down the wrong path.”
The bio of Dessie Magee is surprising,
since it states that he has had difficulty with his voice. Quoting the bio:
Brighton based Dessie Magee, hails from
Belfast, Northern Ireland. Growing up Dessie found it difficult staying out of
trouble and avoiding regular run-ins with the police. Eventually he began
singing in the heavy music scene, a well timed saving grace and positive
outlet. But, over this resulted in Dessie having to undergo major throat
surgery, a result of which he was unable to speak for months after. Despite the
injury, Dessie was determined to pursue his musical career and after a long
period of rehabilitation he began learning to speak again, and eventually was
able to sing again.
Many people in this situation would rule out
a future in music but his persistence and passion for music gave him the
ambition to strive for success and begin his new journey. With a diverse
musical background and a new found resilience, Dessie’s music took a completely
different direction.
For information as to the “Restrain” EP,
visit:
“Life Design” by Dessie Magee
Lyrics of “Restrain” by Dessie
Magee
How can you let a house like
this hold you down?
How can you breathe when all
you ever do is drown?
All that it means is you cannot
restrain yourself
These walls give you peace, but
do they have your back
You fell to knees by the window
you smashed
We all can see, you’re giving
in
If you reach your destination,
then you’re comfortable in your own skin
Breathe out, breathe in, fade
out, fade in
Breathe out, breathe in, fade
out
All of this means you don't
know yourself
All of this means you can’t
control yourself
We all can see you don’t love
yourself
What’s wrong with love? Two
white liars
They’re all giving up, too
young to retire
It’s clear to see you’re giving
in
If you reach your destination,
then you’re comfortable in your own skin
Breathe out, breathe in, fade
out, fade in
Breathe out, breathe in, fade
out, fade in
Breathe out, fade in, fade out
All of this means you don't
know yourself
All of this means you can’t
control yourself
We all can see you don’t love
yourself
How can you let a house like
this hold you down?
How can you breathe when all
you ever do is drown?
All that it means is that you’re
giving in,
If you reach your destination,
then you’re comfortable in your own skin
