John Cathal O’Brien is a Dublin-born and NY-based folk songwriter. His latest album These Borders came out on the 10th of August and it’s a mesmerizing collection of quietly haunting folk songs. It can get quite melancholic, but even then, the brokenness and the confusion always dwells on soothing and comforting beauty. I’m not sure should anyone ever be compared to Leonard Cohen, because well, how could anyone live up to that comparison. Nevertheless, there’s definitely something here that reminds me of him. Maybe it’s the mood, maybe it’s the way the deceptively simple songs lure me in and slowly begin to reveal more layers about the song and the listener. In any case, These Borders is a great album full of beautifully melancholic and contemplative folk songs and it’s a treasure to behold.