Here's some background info from Declan's bio:
"In 2008 I recorded “A fire to scare the sun” in the same abandoned room I recorded my first album. I would love to say it was an easy process but it was like pulling teeth with rusty pliers and then shoving them back in again after dipping them in salt. Paralysis by analysis. Sometimes you have to say “Fuck it, it is what it is...shut the fuck up and play”. So after months of agonizing over this word and that note I just went in and played. I let the songs be themselves without worrying. I sat back and realized I had “A fire to scare the sun”.
I was lucky enough to have Brian Hogan from Kila on lapsteel and Gretsch goodness , James Dunne from the RTE symphony Orchestra on drums, long suffering touring buddy and cellist extraordinaire Mary Barnecutt and virtuoso Cora Venus Lunny on violin and viola. After hearing Cora sing at a concert we played together I convinced her to sing on some songs. A good move."
If I review an album here then you know it's an album I like. The challenge for me is to express in the written form how good the album is and to convince the reader to go and explore the artist's music. I bought Declan's debut a couple of years back and it was a slow burner but over time it was an album I'd come back to time and time again. When I read that Declan's second album was imminent I knew I had to have the album.
'A Fire To Scare The Sun' is being released next month to coincide with an appearance at the Electric Picnic. It's an atmospheric Irish folk rock album. Actually the power of the album is that it's difficult to describe. If you want a great male voice singing beautiful love songs you have it here with songs like 'Diamonds' and 'Beautiful One'. If you want a rustic Irish contemporary sound it's here with 'Brightest Star' and 'Red Forests' which includes the stunning vocals of Cora Venus Lunny. If you're a fan of Irish indie such as Jape, David Kitt etc you are in luck with tunes like 'On and On' and '57 years'.
The real strength of 'A Fire To Scare The Sun' is that the sum of all the above elements is an atmospheric album of real quality. I am able to connect to these moods and when I listen to the album I get that great feeling that this album was meant for me.
A Fire To Scare The Sun - 11 out of 12
Diamonds
http://www.myspace.com/declandebarra
3 Sep 2009 20:00 IRELAND - Dublin - The Pint Bar - 28 Eden Quay -(pre e picnic session) Dublin
6 Sep 2009 20:00 IRELAND - Electric Picnic - Ceol stage (singing in Irish) Laois
12 Sep 2009 20:00 FRANCE - Paris - France Inter - Le Pont Des Artistes Paris
14 Sep 2009 20:00 FRANCE - Paris - Sunset Paris
15 Sep 2009 20:00 FRANCE - Paris - Sunset Paris
16 Sep 2009 20:00 FRANCE - Paris - Sunset Paris
26 Sep 2009 20:00 FRANCE - ORLEANS - Festival De Loire Orleans
27 Sep 2009 20:00 France - Paris - Spectaculaire Paris
28 Sep 2009 20:00 SPAIN - Gerona - TBA Gerona
29 Sep 2009 20:00 SPAIN - Tarragon - TBA Tarragon
30 Sep 2009 20:00 Spain - Salamanca - TBA Salamanca
1 Oct 2009 20:00 Portugal - Spain - TBA TBA
2 Oct 2009 20:00 Portugal - Lisboa - TBA TBA
3 Oct 2009 20:00 Portugal - TBA TBA
4 Oct 2009 20:00 Spain - TBA TBA
5 Oct 2009 20:00 Spain - Don Benito - Dolce Vita Don Benito
6 Oct 2009 20:00 Spain - Madrid - TBA madrid
7 Oct 2009 20:00 Spain - Barcelona - TBA Barcelona
8 Oct 2009 20:00 FRANCE - Toulouse - Fairfield cafe Toulouse
31 Oct 2009 20:00 FRANCE - PARIS - au Café de la Danse Mariee Sioux + Matt Bauer Paris
5 Nov 2009 20:00 France - Paris - Point Ephémeré Paris
13 Mar 2010 20:00 Paris - Lens - Le Colisée Lens
30 Apr 2010 20:00 France - -Chateaubriant - Theatre de Verre Chateaubriant
*** Note remember the French were the first to tell the world about how great Jeff Buckley was! Also they fell for Ben Harper and Irish artist Perry Blake first!
Here is Declan singing with French star Maidi Roth!
Comments