Mike Dunne’s ”Once” shines bright in first light of new album ”LIGHT”

Mike Dunne’s new single “Once” is a pause, a breath, a cherished memory. The album ”LIGHT’s” opening song, “Once” is a profound capturing of the discovery of your ”Anam Cara”, your soul friend. “Once” implies rarity and inevitability, that single moment when you come to meet someone who fills corners of your spirit you didn’t even know were empty. Dunne gets the emotional epiphany exactly right, and in a way that allows the music to unravel softly and with a purpose.

A stark, unadorned piano line sounding simultaneously simple yet emotive sets a contemplative tone from the first note. It’s minimal but deep like a thought spoken softly in a quiet room. The vocals enter, double-tracked and warm, for a full, intimate sound. This layering doesn’t clog the sound but cradles it, and listeners feel enfolded in closeness. You don’t just hear the words but you feel them.

The cello grounds “Once” next, a warm touch of earthiness to humanize a void. Meaning it is the musical equivalent of a friend putting a steadying hand on your shoulder. As if the heart itself is half lifted, emotionally, toward something larger, as the piece feels settled, the violin then lifts it, moving the emotion literally upward, an octave higher.

Everything is intentional. “Once” includes four separate elements, each added with delicacy: piano, vocals, cello and violin. Together, they build a song, a passage, a transition from darkness to common light. This is just the beginning. As the opening track of Light, “Once” isn’t just kicking off an album; it’s kicking off a voyage of joy, struggle, and constant reconnection.

“The strength of Dunne’s craft is not only in the composition as much as it is in the sincerity radiating from every note. ”Once” doesn’t demand that you dance or scream; it asks that you recall when you found your person, your ”Anam Cara”, and the light that it brought with it.