Seán Feeny arrives fully formed. The Donegal singer-songwriter’s debut album “Galactic Tides” is out now, a ten-track collection that moves between intimate folk reflections and expansive cinematic arrangements with the confidence of an artist who knows exactly what he’s making and why.
The album builds on the momentum of his first two singles, “1969” and “Western Roads,” which earned national and regional radio play and coverage across Ireland, the UK, Europe, the US, and Canada. The title track followed in January, a sweeping, atmospheric folk-pop piece about displacement, discovery, and belonging that set the tone for everything the album delivers.
Produced by longtime collaborator Orri McBrearty, with performances from Ruairí Friel, Sarah Cullen, Tommy Callaghan, and cellist Laura McFadden, “Galactic Tides” draws on family history, historical record, and the universal search for home. Feeny puts it plainly: “So much of this album is about movement, across countries, across generations, across the inner world. The more I wrote, the more I realised these songs weren’t just about my family or Irish history, they were about anyone who’s ever felt uprooted or unanchored but kept going anyway.”
Structured in two parts, Low Tide and High Tide, the album maps both emotional ebb and flow. Tracks like “Tír Mór,” “Wild Geese,” and “Bairneach” continue Feeny’s exploration of diaspora, nature, and the quiet internal landscapes we navigate in times of change. The closing track “Human” lands with quiet resolution, a reminder that regardless of origin or identity, connection runs deeper than distance.
Donegal filmmaker Charlie Joe Doherty, who directed the videos for “1969,” “Western Roads,” and “Galactic Tides,” traces the album’s arc across both real and symbolic landscapes with real visual sensitivity.