Kodaline’s new track ‘Saving Grace’ is just earnest enough to strike a chord in you. Songs in this vein often go for the saccharine and come up short on the authenticity, but Kodaline’s piano-infused pop effort hits all the marks in terms of mood, instrumentation, and heart. This band from Ireland has been performing steadily for quite a while now, but their sounds remain as fresh and relevant as ever. 

They’ve got a real knack for romantic, sentimental, and moving tunes that aim straight for your heart, and it looks like the trend is continuing till date. Lead singer Steve Garrigan’s vocals are sharp and light, and he’s able to instill every word with a sense of resilience and vulnerability. And it’s fitting that the chorus ramps up with backing vocals reminiscent of a gospel arrangement because the words very much focus on unity, support, and togetherness in times of trouble. 

The religious tunings might be fairly obvious but the subject matter is explored in a much more intimate way. It helps that the backing instrumentation, particularly the piano, keeps the composition focused and personal so that the listener can feel themselves getting immersed into the emotional whirlwind. Many would draw comparisons to a similar band out of Ireland, that is, the Script, but rest assured, Kodaline do manage to hold out on their own here and thrive on a unique sound. 

‘No one knows what the future holds’ and ‘I’m giving you my life’ are some of the lyrics that demonstrate the expressive nature of the composition; it’s unabashedly romantic and the song itself will be a ‘saving grace’ to all those listeners riding out the pandemic by themselves. 

The song will be part of Kodaline’s upcoming album One Day At A Time, which will be released later this year. This will be the band’s fourth studio album, so by now, they’ve already gathered a core group of fans that will follow their music to the ends of the earth. 

“We're so lucky to do what we do," the band has said;

You know, write songs and play shows. If I could go back and tell my teenage self that this is what I'd be doing now, he wouldn't believe it."

  Indie-folk     Indie-rock 

Author: Shaoni Das

Shaoni Das is a writer/editor currently based in Edmonton, Canada. She remains eager to inspect how the changing culture of music impacts upon the greater world.