If ‘Time in a Bottle’ is anything to go by, then the new album from Megan O’Neill will be something to savour. The Irish singer-songwriter has just released a cover of Jim Croce’s timeless classic to wet our appetites for ‘Getting Comfortable with Uncertainty’, the highly-anticipated follow-up to 2018’s ‘Ghost of You’, due in March. And whilst Croce’s original is a whimsical walk through the sun-drenched ranch of his family home, the haunting piano and pure vocal performance on O’Neill’s version makes this an altogether different kind of journey. It is the perfect backdrop to the kind of stories told in the John Lewis Christmas advert: bleakly heart-warming stuff that grabs the attention and soothes the soul. Megan digs deep into the lyrics, and draws out a sadness in the lines “There never seems to be enough time to do the things you want to do once you find them” that is easily missed by Croce’s faster pace. As such, it has the potential to stir up a whole range of emotions, calling the listener to reflect on the precious time we have with those we hold most dear. And the meditative atmosphere that O’Neill and her collaborator Mark Caplice create makes it easy for us to do just that. ‘Time in a Bottle’ is a first-class production. An utterly transfixing, boldly cinematic sound.

You can listen to the single on Spotify here.

Originally published on Belles & Gals on 31st January 2021.