Dublin-born singer-songwriter David Hanratty is back with a haunting new single, “Chipping Away.” The song is a soul-searching meditation on memory, progress, and the invisible chisels of time. On April 18, 2025, it represents a subdued sense of triumph for Hanratty as a songwriter, fusing sentiment with instrumentation.
“Chipping Away” pulls the listener into close quarters from the first few seconds. There’s a mournful ache in the chords, not sad, but contemplative, weathered, lived-in. Hanratty’s voice is tender but not brittle. There’s plenty of gravel to it, a sign of someone who’s had a rough ride but emerged the wiser. It’s not a song contorting itself for attention. It earns its attention with sincerity.
The power of the song is a steady tempo that thumps below ruminative lyrics, pondering the friction between past and present. From a defining childhood experience, Hanratty leverages his story not for wistful purposes, but to excavate something more profound. The process of becoming. As the verses play out, listeners are reminded that personal advancement isn’t always a brave jump ahead, sometimes it’s a crawl, barely noticeable. A chip here, a crack there until you know you’re a new person.