I often start out these articles on new artists by comparing them to better known ones. In my observations with friends, I find this to be the de facto way of people telling one another about new artists. Someone might casually mention a new artist they really like, and more often than not, the friend will ask, "Who does he sound like?"

Some answers to this question create such a visceral, immediate connection they are vastly more effective than any glossy ad in a magazine. I know that when friends compare artists and bands to Ben Folds, Third Eye Blind or Ray LaMontagne, my ears immediately perk up. When I heard the opening act at a concert I attended recently, one name popped into my head instantly: David Gray.

This is who Paddy Casey sounds like. The Irish brogue accent, the gravelly yelps during choruses, it sounded like a younger David Gray. But there are nuances found in his music that David Gray never touches. Concerns for the world, a daughter that is about to enter it, his lyrics are experience weary.

After seeing him in concert, I set about to do some research about him. Turns out he is absolutely huge in Ireland and the UK in general. His first album went double platinum way back in 1999. The album had great debut songs like "Fear" and the breakup song anthem "It's over now." During his portion of the concert, he made constant references to the "psycho" girls that inspired these types of songs.

His sophomore release "Living," has gone over twelve times platinum in Ireland. I personally can't remember any album in the US that has sold that many copies in the last three years. His songs evoke a swagger of Irish youth normally reserved for a James Joyce novel, but can also become poignant and solemn. "Sweet Suburban Sky," a bittersweet ode to pollution and the destruction of the ozone bring about the artist's deservedly pessimistic worldview. In addition to his incredible commercial success, his background story is one of legend. Leaving home as a teenager to live with his brother and go busking, which means to perform in public places over in the UK (think street performer); he honed his craft amongst other talented buskers. Finally, he struck it big after being discovered by a Sony BMG talent scout and a few million album sales and hit songs later; one cannot help but admire a musician who did the only thing he could do, which was play music.

Paddy Casey is now on a U.S. tour trying to garner the sort of attention and acclaim he has received across the pond. It is a transition fraught with hard earned successes and pitfalls, and the translation doesn't always come across crystal clear. But with acoustic guitar and vocal abilities similar to an artist who made the transition quite well in David Gray, one would think he will be just fine in that regard.

Brad Revare is a sophomore at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colo.