Just A Man is the brand new single from Irish duo Colm O’Connell and Rory McDaid under their artist moniker Rezo, taken from their new album, The Age of Self Help, due for release on 12th July 2024 and produced by Montreal heavyweight Marcus Paquin (Arcade Fire, The National, The Weather Station). The Age of Self Help follows their sophomore album, Sew Change (2022) and their debut long player Travalog (2021).
The Age of Self Help is described as Rezo’s most potent and assured work to date, comprising deft melodies, imaginative arrangements and intriguing lyrical narratives which producer Marcus Paquin has artfully curated into something that will stand against the best of his catalogue. Stylistically, its ten songs cross a spectrum from retro acoustic to a more contemporary, introspective place, and Just a Man sits somewhere between the two in a way that makes it the perfect calling card for the album. Lyrically, as Colm puts it, the song “captures the existential hangover – or the anxiety of it. Questioning relationships, your health, your life – when, really, it’s the booze-fuelled paranoia talking and there’s lots to be thankful for”. Sonically, Just a Man evokes Odelay-era Beck and a vocal delivery that calls to mind Michael Stipe on R.E.M’s Up while retaining a voice and mood all of its own.