Ahh there’s nothing like a good slice of pop/rock to awaken the creative juices from their mid-week slumber, and this week, that comes from Marc Carroll. Marc is a Dubliner born and bred, but now lives in sunny L.A. and you can hear both Irish and American influences in his sweeping, melodic single, ‘What’s Left Of My Heart’.

The track immediately puts you in chilled holiday mode, with its vaguely tropical guitar opener, and continues with a sweeping piano/guitar based melody. This is layered under a vocal from Marc which is quite distinct in its deep, husky tone. It’s a very easy song to sit back and listen to, although it does fail on a few points.

I felt there was a lack of balance in the production at times, with piano, guitar, or vocal getting lost in the overall sound. There was also a slightly odd electric guitar riff that popped up midway through the song, which for me didn’t need to be there, and clashed with the main melody. That said, underneath these poor points is a melody that consistently soars throughout, a reflective, heartfelt story, and lest I forget, an accompanying video.

This video goes along with the chilled out, holiday feel that I got from the start of the song, and takes the viewer on a journey through Las Vegas, via palm trees, expensive hotels, and the obligatory, and very atmospheric sunset. Although the quality isn’t great on home video style music videos, they do have a certain charm, and this one goes really well with the style of song that Marc Carroll has produced.

Check out the song for yourself when it’s released on February 22nd, or visit Marc online at www.myspace.com/marccarroll or www.marccarroll.com.