On paper, Irish band Rubyhorse has done everything that every young aspiring band sets out to do. Childhood friends dreaming of making the big time, moving to America, playing the club scene, building a huge following, signing a major record deal, touring with REM, Sheryl Crow, David Gray, and Ryan Adams, making the billboard charts, and appearing on Letterman, Conan and Good Morning America. Yet – for all of their struggles, and for all of their accomplishments, outside of their adopted home of Boston and their actual home of Ireland, they still remain relatively obscure.

Goodbye To All That is Rubyhorse’s second release. The first, Rise, released on Island Records, produced the single “Sparkle” which registered at #17 on the Billboard charts. But after the slight flurry of excitement died down, Island and the band parted ways, giving Rubyhorse – what they called – “freedom.”

Even without knowledge of the aforementioned description of Rubyhorse’s rollercoaster-ride-of-a-biography, a first listen of Goodbye To All That would hint at the turbulent past – as it reeks of dark introspection and somber disappointment. Aside from the “forget the past” interpretation of the album title, songs titles like “Fell on Bad Days”, “Sorrow”, and “Long Time Coming” don’t require a psychoanalyst to decipher.

But through all the melancholy – this album radiates some of the most amazing imagery that these ears have heard in years.

Bassist and songwriter Declan Lucey seems to set the tone and pace for most of the music – starting off the album slow and mournful with “Some Dream” in a Roger Waters’ style of rustling instruments and lumbering bass line. But just as you’re about to grab a tissue and wipe away the tears, “Fell on Bad Days” kicks in singing “Fell on Bad Days...but it doesn’t feel so bad now.” As in, “don’t worry about us, we’re fine.”

It’s impossible to not compare singer Dave Farrell’s voice and intimate style to that of fellow Irishman Bono. On “Sorrow” Farrell pours out his heart to an Edge-like guitar rhythm – bass and drums gradually building to a climatic bridge of dreamlike harmonies, plucking strings and washing keys.

The music here is mesmerizing. Beyond the excellent songwriting and subtlety of the hooks, a variable style of sound keeps each track interesting. From the rustling chimes behind the overtly layered “Fell on Bad Days,” to the steel drum, cajun-sounding “A Place in the Sun” to the guitar and piano duet on “Long Weekend” – Goodbye has a distinct originality to it.

Inevitably, comparisons must be made, and they will range from the edginess of U2, to the texture of Radiohead, to the sadness of Nick Drake – depending on the song. But the entire effort is unique from anything in recent memory. Mostly, there is something about the sincerity of the tone and message – a message of triumph over adversity – that makes it beautiful.