Wide Eyed & Ignorant

AMG Review of Wide Eyed & Ignorant

Tom Demalon
All Music Guide

The Irish quintet A House teamed with producer Edwyn Collins for their fourth release, 1995's Wide Eyed And Ignorant. The result is a collection of jangly, uptempo songs that bear more than a passing resemblance to James. Led by the sturdy vocals of lead singer Dave Couse and the ringing guitar of Feargal Bunbury, A House leads things off with the galloping "The Strong And The Silent," which features some martial drumming by Dave Dawson. "She Keeps Me Humble" is a tongue-in-cheek track that covers the same melodic territory but adds some strings. There are a few missteps like the spoken word portions on "Why Me?" and "Everything I Am," but the good far outweighs the bad. In the end, it's difficult to resist the ear candy and positive vibe of songs like "Here Come The Good Times." Wide Eyed And Ignorant is an entertaining and invigorating listen.