Songdog

Artist Information

Biography

“But when you wake up from a dream there’s no getting back there” --- the poignancy of passing time, the magic dissolving, is a recurring theme of folk noiristes SONGDOG. Lives fade away like a half-heard whisper behind the curtain in the cinema on a Saturday afternoon, love disappears in a taxi on a rainy night, they’re “growing old in a snakepit”, yet the spirit remains defiant in their uncompromising, explicit lyricism.

Originally from Blackwood, Wales, Songdog are Lyndon Morgans (singer/songwriter and award-winning playwright), Karl Woodward and Dave Paterson, whose delicate, stripped-down instrumentation surrounds intricate stories of life, love and loss.

Songdog's albums, including ‘A Life Eroding’ (2010), 'A Wretched Sinner's Song' (2008) and 'The Time Of Summer Lightning' (2005), have received great press reviews and airplay on Jonathan Ross and Janice Long on BBC Radio 2, Gideon Coe on BBC 6Music and John Kennedy on XFM shows amongst others. Their cover of Dylan's 'Desolation Row' was commissioned specially for Uncut’s 100th birthday issue covermount.

Songdog have just finished recording a new album for 2012, 'Last Orders At Harry's Bar' (due for release this autumn).

Fans include Robert Wyatt, Jack Douglas (producer of John Lennon's Double Fantasy) and Bruce Springsteen, who used their track 'Days of Armageddon' for "walk in music" on his European tour and personally requested a copy of 'A Wretched Sinner's Song'.

Songdog will be touring in Europe and the UK in May 2012, supporting Morten Harket (London show O2 Indigo).

Previous live dates include shows at the Bloomsbury Theatre (supporting Martin Rossiter, ex-Gene), Kings Place, the Borderline, Roundhouse Studio, Bush Hall, Union Chapel, ICA and Spitz, supporting Joan As Police Woman at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, appearances at the Port Eliot, Analog, Wireless, Guilfest, TDK Cross Central and Secret Garden festivals and supporting the Go-Betweens on their last UK tour. They have also appeared at international festivals in Japan, Canada, Spain, Sweden and Russia.

Influences: Lyndon reveres Leonard Cohen, James Joyce, Joni Mitchell, Samuel Beckett, Tom Waits, Marcel Proust, Bob Dylan and Emile Cioran. Plus Roy Orbison and Franz Kafka, the Beatles, Bruce Springsteen and Baudelaire. He doesn’t really like to hang out, but if these people were to book a bus and ask him along for a summer-afternoon’s chilling out in the hills he’d definitely go, because they’re the people he grew up reading and listening to, his role-models if you like. (Some of them he’s seen live, some of them he’s just visited the graves of. And he taught himself French so he could read some of them in their own language).

For Lyndon, if it’s not about poetry (the shorthand of the heart) and great tunes it’s probably just a career move. Sure, poetry can encompass anything from “The Waste Land” to “Long Tall Sally” but just so long as it’s there! In earlier bands Lyndon used to yelp his stuff in front of Marshall-stacks and big bass-bins, but with Songdog he changed tack and sold his gold-top Les Paul for a Martin. So there’s as much attitude in his songs as ever, only now it’s murmured sotto voce.

Lyndon's non-musical writing includes 'Water Music' (for which he won the Verity Bargate Award for Best New Play), 'Jitterbugger: a cartoon for the stage', a French monologue, 'Conte de Fées' and a screenplay 'Crazy House'. He was recently invited to submit a piece on Samuel Beckett for a forthcoming book about musicians and their literary heroes, 'Filthy Lyre', and his lyrics for 'Cold Coffee & Ava Gardner' were included in a new book about Ava Gardner by Connecticut State University Professor Gil Gigliotti.

“Lyndon Morgans's Welsh wanderers explore the soul's secrets and heart's longings on this richly-layered album. Musically, lyrically and emotionally, Songdog, rather than the more celebrated Manic Street Preachers, are the true bards of Blackwood." Gavin Martin, The

Instrumentation

Lyndon Morgans - Vocal/acoustic guitar
Karl Woodward - Electric Guitar, keyboards, harmonica, mandolin, banjo
Dave Paterson - Drums, percussion, keyboards, melodica, tablas, accordion, glockenspiel

Discography

Songdog's music has been played on a range of radio shows including Jonathan Ross and Janice Long on BBC Radio 2, Gideon Coe on BBC 6 Music, John Kennedy on London's XFM, the Arctic Circle and Hello Goodbye on Resonance FM plus other regional and international play.

2012 - "Last Orders At Harry's Bar" (release date tbc)
2010 - "A Life Eroding" (One Little Indian Records) - album. Singles: "Elaine" and "3:30am (Small Talk).
2008 - "A Wretched Sinner's Song" (One Little Indian Records) - album. Single: "Pilgrim Hill" and Christmas single "I'm Still Waiting To Start Hurting"
2005 - "The Time of Summer Lightning" (album) One Little Indian Records. Two singles released from album "Childhood Skies" and "Janie Jones
www.indian.co.uk/songdog
2003 - "Haiku" - (album) Evangeline Recorded Works
2001 - "The Way of The World" - (album) Zara Records.

Songdog recently recorded a version (with Jason McNiff) of Townes Van Zandt's 'Mr Mudd and Mr Gold' for a tribute album 'Riding The Range' (Cherry Red, Sep 2010), which also included covers of Townes Van Zandt songs by Jackie Leven, the Magic Numbers, Devon Sproule and Johnny Dowd amongst others.

Links

• Facebook
• Last.fm
• Twitter
• MySpace
• Songdog on YouTube
• Songdog on MUZU TV

Audio

• St Lucy's Day
  Listen  
• A Life Eroding (So Much Sorrow)
  Listen  
• Days of Armageddon
  Listen  
• One Day When God Begs My Forgiveness
  Listen  
• On Porthcawl Sands
  Listen  
• 3.30am (Small Talk)
  Listen  
• Elaine (Clean Radio Edit)
  Listen  

Lyrics

• One Day When God Begs My Forgiveness
• Childhood Skies
• Days of Armageddon
• A Life Eroding (So Much Sorrow)

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• "A Life Eroding" - Album Review (Gavin Martin) [+ Show ]
  

  Lyndon Morgans's Welsh wanderers explore the soul's secrets and heart's longings on this richly-laye...Lyndon Morgans's Welsh wanderers explore the soul's secrets and heart's longings on this richly-layered album. Musically, lyrically and emotionally, Songdog, rather than the more celebrated Manic Street Preachers, are the true bards of Blackwood.

• "A Life Eroding" - Album review (4*, James McNair)
  

  Lyndon Morgans's lyrics are as evocative as ever...magical songs...You'll be with him all the way

• "A Wretched Sinner's Song", Album Preview, Allan Jones, Editor, Uncut Magazine [+ Show ]
  

  "There’s one album I don’t think is on Michael’s list that I’ve been listening to over the weekend t..."There’s one album I don’t think is on Michael’s list that I’ve been listening to over the weekend that I’d like to flag up, because it’s brilliant. It’s a record called A Wretched Sinner’s Song, and it’s the forthcoming new album by Songdog.
  
  Regular and longstanding Uncut readers may be familiar with them via the tracks we’ve featured over the years from their albums to date – The Way Of The World, Haiku and The Time Of Summer Lightning – including “Days Of Armageddon”, which Bruce Springsteen picked up on from a batch of Uncut covermounts he asked us to send him, and which he’s since played regularly before his concerts. You may remember also the terrific version they recorded exclusively for Uncut of “Janie Jones” for our Clash tribute CDs a few years ago, a track that became a favourite of Jonathan Ross, who gave it extensive airplay on his Radio 2 show.
  
  Briefly, Songdog are a trio featuring Karl Woodward and Dave Paterson on guitars, keyboards, harmonica, banjo, mandolin, accordion, drums and tablas and former playwright Lyndon Morgans on vocals and guitar. Their music is dark and sinister and beautiful and Lyndon’s songs are by turns sexy, scary, funny, creepy, heartbreaking and usually always brilliant.
  
  A Wretched Sinner’s Song is their most ambitious album so far, the basic trio augmented here by violin, cello, French horn and double bass. Typically, Lyndon’s songs are about love, sex, tattoos, lynch-mobs, infidelity, owls, revenge, the devil, drugs, despair, transcendence, talking crows and Porthcawl Beach.
  
  It’s out on January 21 on One Little Indian, and while there’s every unfortunate chance that it’ll be overshadowed by some of the so-called Big Name releases, it won’t be outshone by any of them.
  
  Keep an ear out for it."
  
  Allan Jones
  Editor, Uncut

• "A Wretched Sinner's Song" - Album Review, Maverick [+ Show ]
  

  “Intense & sensual collection of baroque, last chance lives...supremely evocative imagery that lesse...“Intense & sensual collection of baroque, last chance lives...supremely evocative imagery that lesser poets can only aspire to”
  
  to download full review and all Songdog's press please go to http://www.songdog.co.uk/press.htm

• "The Time Of Summer Lightning" - Album Review [+ Show ]
  

  "Lyndon Morgans'literate lyrics and his band's hushed, slow arrangements are so distinct in British ..."Lyndon Morgans'literate lyrics and his band's hushed, slow arrangements are so distinct in British pop....proving whispered honesty is more rock'n'roll than raucous bluster" ****Review, Nick Hasted
  
  
  To download the full review in PDF format please go to the Press section at www.songdog.co.uk

• "The Time Of Summer Lightning": Covermount CD track preview [+ Show ]
  

  "profound ideas and affecting stories set against the most delicately formed musical backdrops" T..."profound ideas and affecting stories set against the most delicately formed musical backdrops"
  
  To download the full review in PDF format please go to the Press section at www.songdog.co.uk
  

• "The Time Of Summer Lightning" - Album Review, The Independent [+ Show ]
  

  "Lyndon Morgans and his band brew up some of the most gorgeous twilight sounds" Tim Perry To dow..."Lyndon Morgans and his band brew up some of the most gorgeous twilight sounds" Tim Perry
  
  To download the full review in PDF format please go to the Press section at www.songdog.co.uk
  

• 'Haiku' - Album Review [+ Show ]
  

  "...Second album of bruised brilliance from London-via-South Wales trio...never less than captivatin..."...Second album of bruised brilliance from London-via-South Wales trio...never less than captivating..." ****Review, Rob Hughes
  
  
  To download the full review in PDF format please go to the Press section at www.songdog.co.uk
  

• 'Haiku' - Album Review [+ Show ]
  

  "A daring, sometimes magical record..." James McNair To download the full review in PDF format ..."A daring, sometimes magical record..." James McNair
  
  
  To download the full review in PDF format please go to the Press section at www.songdog.co.uk
  

• 'Haiku' - Album Review [+ Show ]
  

  "..the first essential record of the year" *****Review, Colin Hall To download the full review ..."..the first essential record of the year" *****Review, Colin Hall
  
  
  To download the full review in PDF format please go to the Press section at www.songdog.co.uk
  

• 'Haiku' - Album Launch Preview [+ Show ]
  

  "..something of the lamplit cabaret of a Jacques Brel or a pared-down Nick Cave." Claire Allfree ..."..something of the lamplit cabaret of a Jacques Brel or a pared-down Nick Cave." Claire Allfree
  
  
  To download the full review in PDF format please go to the Press section at www.songdog.co.uk
  

Setlist

Typical set 45-50 mins but would prefer to play longer!
A Life Eroding (So Much Sorrow)
Childhood Skies
One Day When God Begs My Forgiveness
It's Raining On The Old Cat's Grave
A Prayer To Old Idols
Fairytale (duet)
Hatcheck Girl (duet)
The Sky Was So Blue It Was Scary
Days of Armageddon

Basic Requirements

Calendar