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Each of our vinyl record subscription deliveries come with a premium quality album, an exclusive compilation EP and a bonus gift. October 2020’s Irish choice is featured below.
An incredible band from Dublin, that we have been looking forward to featuring for LovesVinyl subscribers. They are made up by the incredible singer-songwriter Brian Brannigan, Anton Hegarty (Future Kings Of Spain) on bass, Julie Bienvenu (Lines Drawing Circles) on drums and multi-instrumentalist and producer, Joe Chester. Where does such a unique name like A Lazarus Soul come from? Frontman Brannigan explained that he was born with Spina bifida, which was treated with major surgery at age seven, sadly got cancer when he was 14 and survived against all odds. His mother Peggy used to lovingly call him Lazarus, after the bible character who had a spookily similar story.
This trauma was what influenced Brannigan to turn to music as a coping mechanism and that young boy would go on to be one of Ireland’s finest lyricists. From the early 2000s onwards, A Lazarus Soul played together, swapped lineups, built their repertoire and released albums which were well received. However when Brannigan became a father, he paused his music career much to fans’ disappointment - until he was asked to play a tribute gig for his hero, Mark E. Smith. For the tribute, he asked Joe, Julie and Anton to join him for the special performance and after rehearsing for one hour, a light went off for them and the rest was history for A Lazarus Soul.
’The D They Put Between R & L’ is the fourth studio album by this Irish band and the second album completed by the current lineup. A heartfelt and poignant piece of work, this album will take you back in time and will also surprise you with some contemporary sounds, like on ‘Settled Kids’. You could say that A Lazarus Soul have outdone themselves with this album, which is ten tracks long and masterfully produced by ex-Waterboys member Joe Chester. Chosen as album of the week/ album of the year by a number of individuals and publishers in 2019, ’The D They Put Between R & L’ was also named ‘one of the greatest Irish albums of the decade’ by the Irish Independent.
A number of the tracks such as ‘Long Balconies’ speak on behalf of a generation that are sometimes forgotten about. While Brannigan tells tales of Dublin in the sixties, we hear of uprooted communities, a day in the life of living in the flats and the importance of family. We are also brought to face current and timeless issues such as poverty, homelessness, vicious cycles of addiction and the immigration crisis. While the songs may be somber and mostly serious, A Lazarus Soul delivers these stories through memorable lyrics, wonderful instrumental harmonies and unapologetically thick Dublin accents (which is what ’The D They Put Between R & L’ refers to).
You don’t need to be from Dublin to feel reminiscent, rage or sorrow when listening to A Lazarus Soul on vinyl. At the same time, you may even learn something new about the not so distant past - which all in all, not many albums can do, which is what makes this so special.
Like the sound of this? If you’re already a member of our subscription club, you can choose to get A Lazarus Soul on vinyl for your October delivery. If you’d like to order vinyl records online which will be delivered straight to your door, you can sign up to our online vinyl club here.
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