Karrie (O'Sullivan Holmes) is a singer-songwriter from Killarney, the southwest of Ireland. Her third album - recorded together with Jimmy Smyth - contains 11 of her own interpretations of well-known songs by her favorite artists. Yellow Brick Road/Rocket Man, Carolina In My Mind, Here Comes the Sun, You Wear It Well. Everyone knows these world hits. Karrie and Jimmy Smyth have known each other for a long time as musical partners. Jimmy is a Grammy nominated Irish guitarist, producer and composer and has worked with stars such as Van Morrison, Roger Daltrey, Curtis Stigers, Toni Childs, Chaka Kahan and Bonnie Tyler. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown interrupted the duo's work on their first album together. During the video sessions, which were held in separate rooms, a special atmosphere was created, which was originally intended only as a musical basis for their work. But it was precisely these unpolished, rough, almost puristic "first takes", without any technical reworking, that created such a compact density and atmosphere, which stands for itself in its energy, emphasis and charisma. 11 tracks of rock classics, such as "Yellow Brick Road / Rocket Man" (Elton John), "Life on Mars" (David Bowie) or even "Promises" (Eric Clapton) show themselves in a completely new version, almost naked, these songs in the interpretation of Karrie with Jimmy demonstrate their strength, an enormous intensity and a musical power that can be felt with every note. Authenticity of beguiling beauty. "Home Thoughts" is Karrie's third album, created under the special circumstances of the Corona pandemic with simple technology in the home studio. But that's what makes the album stand out - minimal technique, Jimmy's accompaniment on guitar and banjo, and Karrie's unique voice leading in the tradition of her great idols Joni Mitchell and Rickie Lee Jones. A brilliant album which, especially in the fast-paced (music) world, focuses on the essentials and sets a point that forces you to think and listen, a musical magic that lies in the simplicity and emphasis that seemed to have been forgotten. A fascination that can be found in earlier albums by Joni Mitchell or Leonard Cohen. It is not for nothing that Karrie is already considered a quite extraordinary talent in her home country Ireland and sets another milestone with this album.
