On Your Way

On Your Way is an impressive solo debut and comeback effort for Flynn (aka Martin Crotty), who was frontman for the Boston-based band Cliffs of Dooneen before a devastating ladder accident forced him out of the music business for two years. In some ways, Flynn is picking up where Cliffs of Dooneen left off. For one thing, he enlisted his former band's co-founder, Lex Lianos, to provide drums and programming. More significantly, he adopted a vibrant alternative pop/rock sound that, like Cliffs, may surprise anyone with preconceived notions about what to expect from an Irish-born, Boston-based singer/songwriter. In other words, this is not Celtic music, and it's not American contemporary folk. Flynn does use a lot of acoustic guitar, but always in tandem with electric guitar and always backed with liberal doses of Scott Padgett's bass and Lianos' drums and samples. Flynn does much of his power work on acoustic guitar, while the electric guitar parts are usually restrained and carefully crafted. This creates a rich soundscape that seems to draw at different times from influences as varied as David Gray, Train, Tears for Fears, and late A-ha. Veteran producer Tom Waltz expertly accentuates Flynn's catchy hooks, which helps to obscure the artist's limitations as a lyricist (he tends to rely on pop clichés rather than expressing fresh insight) and as a vocalist. At 14 tracks and nearly 60 minutes, On Your Way is a little overlong, and a few of the weaker songs (e.g., "Tell Me Your Name," "Believe") could have been left off. But On Your Way nevertheless leaves a firm impression of slick radio-readiness without sacrificing Flynn's distinctive songwriting voice. This comeback effort has to be considered an unqualified success.