Elaine O’Rourke’s debut record is aptly entitled No Beginning, No End. Appropriate because it’s hard to believe this is her first record, nor do we hope it would be her last.

This amazing singer/guitarist/songwriter brings a cohesive body of work together which is drenched in her Irish heritage but absolutely maintains a balance of good American folk rock. Ideal instrumentation of violins, dulcimers, & whistle color these songs with the essence of her native Ireland. 

Opening track Sepia Tones sets the captivating tone of this record, quickly taking a rock twist with the charming Tangerine; a great little folk rock song that exhibits Elaine’s brilliant vocal harmonies. The record tours us through a beautifully dark side of this wonderful artist; songs like Free Me & You Can’t Avoid Me are both haunting and lyrically intriguing. 

We highly recommend this record, even for the non-folk-rock folks.
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Devotees of Maddy Prior and Fairport Convention will find Ms. O’Rourke’s lovely and strategically deployed contralto an integral addition to this versatile, largely folk-oriented collection of melodic ballads, which are instrumentally toughened by electric guitar and sweetened by fiddle and acoustic guitar.  There is a wistful, almost sentimental, quality to her voice which lends to even her most subtle tunes a timeless appeal, and which enhances immeasurably remarkable songs like Sepia Tones, Tangerine, Why Do I and (the comparatively gritty) Stir Crazy.  In a folk music marketplace glutted with sound-alikes and wannabes, this hauntingly original and remarkably assured CD debut is a keeper.
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Great CD -- unlike anything I've heard.  Reminds me a bit of a female Nick Drake, or even Maddy Prior, if she were Irish.   Hypnotic and haunting, O'Rourke uses her voice (and the great band she put together for this record) to lull you, sweetly, to another plane, before turning on you.  She brings you to a lovely meadow, spreads a blanket, gets you to lie back and relax, then turns the world upside down and inside out -- twisting, turning, souring, soaring -- and all of it coming from that same sweet little voice. 

At the end you'll want to start the CD over from the beginning and go all over again. 

Summary: A wonderful blend of traditional Celtic-flavored folk and dark quirkiness from a great new singer/songwriter.
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No Beginning, No End gets you where feeling begins, somewhere under the skin, deep under the skin. Passion, ache, fragility, big town lonelines, the need for love - it's all there. And the lyrics are poems in their own right, deeply felt, hauntingly sung. This is Zen music.
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