Rioghan – Covers II

Rioghan
Covers II
Inverse Records
November 19^th, 2021
Playing time: 11:58

In March, the Finnish singer Rioghan Darcy debuted with her project Rioghan. Even though in the press release she was said to have connections to the Gothic and Progressive Metal scene, in my opinion “Blackened Sky” was more in the singer/songwriter style. Now the Finn is following up with a cover EP. The centrepiece is probably the Modern Talking cover “Lonely Tears in Chinatown”. Let’s have a listen.

With “Chandelier” (album “1000 Forms Of Fear”, 2014) by the Australian singer Sia (Sia Kate Isobelle Furler), the EP starts with a Pop-Rock sound. The Modern Talking cover “Lonely Tears In Chinatown” (“In The Middle Of Nowhere”, 1986) received much advance praise in the press release. Even though the singer emphasises that she has always liked the band, the works of Thomas Anders and Dieter Bohlen have never been to my taste. And so her version also fails for me. The song reminds me too much of the German Pop duo. Most of all, I like the contemplative ballad “Dirty Horizon” (Tim Skold “Dies Irae”, 2021).

From my point of view, Rioghan has not reached the class goal on “Covers II”. More could have been made out of the cover songs. I hope and wish that the album planned for next year will be more convincing. The singer certainly has the potential to do so.

Rioghan – Lonely Tears In Chinatown (Modern Talking Cover): https://youtu.be/YCBYEc1JL2s

Lineup:

Rioghan Darcy – Vocals
Teemu Liekkala – All Instruments

Track list:

• Chandelier
• Lonely Tears In Chinatown
• Dirty Horizon