a lazarus soul
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a lazarus soul

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"graveyard of burnt out cars"



In the annals of 'Songs You Don't Want to Hear on Your Way to Work', A Lazarus Soul's 'Icon' deserves its own special place. It's claustrophobic, it's driven by a bassline that wouldn't brighten anyone's day and it has a chorus - "The kingdom of the plenty, where my heart is black and empty" - that would convince many to turn around and seek solace in the duvet. It's also fantastic and is in the best of good and glum company here.

Heavy on atmosphere, 'Graveyard of Burnt Out Cars' is a record whose melancholy is almost hypnotic and where every song sounds like it's been slaved over long into lonely nights.

These tales of lost friendship, life on the downside and memories dredged are seldom told at a fast pace, and while some might say the Dublin outfit's copies of 'Unknown Pleasures' and 'Closer' don't owe them anything, that doesn't take away from what they've achieved here - or their ability to sometimes startle. In an age where technology means that people often only listen to albums in bits, this is one best appreciated from start to finish.

A record about disappointments that doesn't disappoint - you'll need to be in a certain mood, but if you are a treat awaits.

Harry Guerin


- RTE.ie


"graveyard of burnt out cars"

Described in at least one publication as an "indie supergroup" A Lazarus Soul comprises Brian Brannigan (ex Sub Assembly), Fin O'Leary (ex Mexican Pets), and Anton Hegarty, Bryan McMahon and Joey Wilson of Future Kings of Spain. Having been around since 2001, their first offering, A Lazarus Soul Record, did little to excite, despite fervent live show's indicating the quality of that albums songs.

However, on Graveyard of Burnt Out Cars Brannigan and Co. excel themselves. A sometimes apocalyptic, often stunning critique of Dublin in the 80's and 90's, this album manages to convey a sense of there being a very large black hole at the end of a floodlit tunnel and yet still allow the listener to walk away smiling.

On album opener Icon we're told that "In the Kingdom of the conscience it's the ignorant are Kings" and that theme resonates throughout the rest of the album. Turn a deaf ear to the voice in your head and you can find yourself doing just about anything. On Stray Bullet, Brannigan submits to the qusi-heroworship associated with joyriding, "I feel so high, a satellite in the Northern sky, accelerate through these estates, like I'm driving for my life."

It's on both the title track Graveyard of Burnt Out Cars and The Day I Disappeared that A Lazarus Soul reach their brilliant best. If recent news that Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook have decided to no longer work together proves to be true, it wouldn't surprise me if these songs were the reason. Graveyard... marries the central theme of the album "What we fail to see, is our tidy town today just may well be the bloody ghetto of tomorrow." with haunting keys, and crashing guitars, Joe Chester adopting the role of minister (or priest, or indeed Elvis impersonator depending on your persuasion).

A Lazarus Soul's influences are even clearer on The Day I Disappeared, Bryan McMahon devising a hook (if you'll forgive the pun) that Joy Division would be proud of. "The Liffey filled with tears, I believe, the day I disappeared." sings Brannigan, and on this form, it probably would.

A fascinating body of work, Graveyard of Burnt Out Cars should be the launching pad for bigger and better things for A Lazarus Soul. How an album written from deep within the underbelly of the Celtic Tiger can be so enjoyable is a testament to desire of the band to produce great music. Without a doubt the best album I've heard so far this year.

Steven O'Rourke

- Cluas.ie


"Icon"

If it’s a “stomping indie single with echoes of Joy Division and The Smiths” you’re after, look no further than the last opus from Dublin contenders A Lazarus Soul, ‘Icon’. - Hotpress


Discography

albums

July 2001 "alazarussoul record"
April 2007"graveyard of burnt out cars"

singles

March 2007 - Icon
August 2007 - The day I Disappeared
June 2008 - The Lia e.p

Photos

Bio

Brian Brannigan, Joe Chester, Camera Shanahan (Dark Room Notes), Pat & Jon Barrett(10 Speed Racer) rented a house belonging to Ex-Water boy Trevor Hutchinson for two weeks. They record 7 of Brian’s new songs and the result, released in 2001, became the bands debut, “alazarussoul record”. They started playing some live shows with Fin O’ Leary on drums (ex Mexican Pets/Klubber Lang) including some great shows supporting Ex-Girl & Gallon Drunk before the Barrett’s exit.
Now on the look-out for new members, Brian turned to Future Kings of Spain guitarist Joey Wilson and ended up with the entire band. Initial rehearsals of new material demonstrated an incredible chemistry between the new crew and although it would take them forever to get anything done, they stayed together ever since.
The live shows were incendiary and als blew the crowd away to close HWCH 05.
2007 finally saw them release their sophomore effort, “graveyard of burnt out cars”
to critical acclaim with first single, Icon, becoming number one in the Phantom Fm charts. The accompanying video was shot by Shimmy Marcus (Head Rush/ Aidan Walsh: Master of the Universe) and gained them regular rotation on Channel 6.
They Played the Trinity Ball, recorded a 2FM session, played supports to The Hold Steady, Amusement Parks on Fire & Echo and the Bunnymen along with some super headline shows to support the album.
The band courted Controversy when their single “the day I disappeared” gained scathing criticism for “glorifying gangland” by Sinn Fein, causing a storm in The Daily Mirror and ended in an exchange between Sinn Fein and Brian Brannigan on Phantom 105.2 news.
They ended the year by being voted into the top 10 Irish albums of 2007 on Cluas.com & number 1 Irish album by Pete Vamos in the News of the World.
They have just released a new e.p entitled the Lia e.p