B-Side Guys

Geography leaves its imprint on artistic expression. For Cork-based musician Fintan McKahey, Ireland’s misty landscapes and contemplative traditions manifest in “Higher Place,” a track that reimagines emotional purification through elemental imagery—specifically, the transformative power of fire.

While maintaining McKahey’s signature hazy production aesthetic, this single leans more decidedly toward Americana and folk-rock territories, creating a cross-cultural dialogue between Irish introspection and American expansiveness. This sonic migration feels appropriate for a song concerned with transcending boundaries, both external and internal.

The track builds around the repeated invitation to “take it to a higher place” and “watch the fire take all the memories that I’ve erased.” This imagery of ritualistic burning creates immediate visual and emotional resonance—an ancient practice of cleansing rendered in contemporary musical language. McKahey delivers these lines with deceptive gentleness, his smooth vocal performance contrasting with the destructive act being described, creating productive tension between delivery and content.

What distinguishes “Higher Place” from similar explorations of emotional purging is its refreshing candor about altered states. McKahey’s admission of being “blazed” and “up for days” grounds the spiritual ascension in physical reality, acknowledging how consciousness-shifting can be both escape and pathway to insight. This honesty prevents the track from sliding into new-age platitudes, instead keeping it rooted in lived experience.

The instrumental contributions from fellow Cork musicians Eoin Barclay (drums) and Kealan Kenny (slide guitar) create crucial atmospheric dimensions. Barclay’s rhythmic pulse provides forward momentum that counterbalances the dreamy production elements, while Kenny’s slide work adds ethereal textures that suggest horizons beyond immediate perception—the sonic equivalent of squinting into distant mist.

Most compelling is how McKahey transforms internal struggle into poetic imagery. References to “thunder in my heart” and feeling “the weather in my eyes” create a meteorological mapping of emotional states, suggesting how internal turbulence manifests physically. This embodied approach to emotional description gives the track authentic weight despite its ethereal production.

As a single, “Higher Place” suggests an artist expanding his sonic palette while remaining true to his established atmospheric approach. By incorporating Americana influences into his hazy production aesthetic, McKahey creates music that feels simultaneously rooted in place and transcendent of location—much like the emotional journey described in the lyrics, which acknowledges earthly realities while seeking elevation beyond them.