The Last Post

As Morrissey nearly sang once, oh, you winsome devil. The Last Post, lest you've not had the pleasure, is primarily Alan Kelly, in much the same way that Aztec Camera was chiefly Roddy Frame, and, impressively, that's a comparison that really holds water.

As the single Something Tells Me (You'd Be Good For Me) (and how old-fashionedly sweet is that title?) suggested at the tail end of 02, this turns out to be an unexpectedly early christmas present for sensitive souls everywhere, all bruised romance, positively blushing Hammonds, laconic guitar, and some of the most doe-eyed vocals commited to record since the quiter moments on the first Bluetones album, helped no end by worth-seeking-out troubadour David Kitt.

There's a song here called good things don't last for long too, and, at slightly over half an hour, the Post man's got a point. Luuuuuuuuuuvly.

8/10 Iain Moffat
- Rock Sound

The second release from Dubliner Alan Kelly under the name The Last Post is a marriage of convenience between romantic melodies and lush orchestration. After the demise of his former band, In Motion, Kelly self-released a couple of seven inches on the Via Dolorosa label before the release of his debut album Love Lost.

As The Last Post, his brand of sophisticated pop owes a debt to sixties greats such as Phil Spector and Brian Wilson. Layering strings and horns with drums and harmonised vocals, Kelly creates lavish yet still-intimate arrangements. Although the lyrics can sometimes veer towards naivety, with fellow Dublin musician David Kitt guesting on stand-out track Only Thing That Eases The Pain and sweetly pitched harmonies from Aoife O'Leary throughout, Kelly's grand vision remains intact.

Late night listening from a fragile world.

Caroline Hennessy
- RTE

Multi-layered, mellow and sumptuously melodic, Dry Land, the follow - up to the well received 2000 debut Love Lost, is a quiet triumph for songwriter Alan Kelly, who effectively is The Last Post. Recalling everyone from the inspired amateurism of Belle & Sebastian to The Cocteau Twins low-key melancholia, with elements of Jeff Buckley and The Beach Boys, Dry Land betrays a heavy heart. The songs, which barely reach walking pace, don't so much follow each other one-by-one, as blend seamlessly and dreamily into one another. The opener, Something Tells Me You' d Be Good For Me with its lovely loping basslines, crisp snare and heart - warming harmonies, virtually melts into the similarly constructed, Only Thing That Eases The Pain.

Waiting ( featuring David Kitt on vocals ) is almost gothic - country meets the Go-Betweens, a smart combination of jangly textures and shimmering high - land melody. The hopeless, desperate pleading of Can't Wait Til Tomorrow echoes the sentiment in Brian Wilson's, Don't Talk Put Your Head On My Shoulder, while You've Got It All, with its sparse arrangement slowly building into a crescendo of voices and guitars, is a genuine highlight. On the downside there is a sameness (no doubt intentional ) to the pace of the songs most of which are saturated in strings, organ and sundry other subtle instrumental embellishments; rarely it has to be said to the detriment of the songs. It's not exactly a bundle of laughs either - Kelly's otherworldly melodies and love - lorn lyrics come straight from the heart and dark night of the soul. But in the right frame of mind and in small doses this can be spirit - lifting stuff. A late - night, early - morning album, if ever there was one - a broken heart rarely sounded this compelling.

Colm O' Hare
- Hot Press

This second album from the Dublin collective is a real grower. It doesn't sound all that remarkable initially, but then it yields it's many low-key, laid-back charms and you're left with a delightful record. Singer Alan Kelly has called on the assistance of an eclectic group of musicians including the hard-working David Kitt. The results: the string laden majesty of Only thing that eases the pain; the Kitt harmonies on the standout, you've got it all; and the bittersweet change. There's also a handful of lovely little instrumentals. On the downside, the album does feel a little one-dimensional with song after song about the perils of love, but they are executed with such class that you can forgive them. Weighing in at 32 minutes, this self-produced album won't tax your time, but you'll be glad that you made it's acquaintance.

John Meagher
- Irish Independent

Love Lost, Alan Kelly's debut album as The Last Post from 2000, was a beautifully conceived collection of heartbreak pop music. Yet even as one of the most accomplished albums of the year, it practically wilts next to it's successor, Dry Land. Dry Land is an oasis of everything that's good about modern pop music, songs articulate in longing, loneliness and hope. Not only has Kelly orchestrated a romance of real strings and crescendo guitar chords, he has rewritten the book on vocal harmonies. Check out his pitch-perfect sing-a-long with David Kitt on Only thing that eases the pain, or the incredible Cocteau Twins-style constellation of voices on Change. The Last Post is a national treasure.

Leagues O'Toole
- The Ticket

If you are pining for mournful swirling chords, lonesome choirboy vocals and songs filled with heart-rending love hangovers, this irish outfit could be just what is required. The rich swell of conviction is hard to resist and is backed by a knack for sharp lyrical detail (Silence Seems To Say). They undoubtably could benefit from being a little less serious but they still, ahem, deliver.

Gavin Martin
- Daily Mirror

Dublin's The Last Post, aka one Alan Kelly, collects his first two singles on First Love:the via dolorosa recordings, a precursor to thepiano-led indie-spirituals of his Love Lost debut released earlier this year. While not yet out of the shadow of Brian Wilson, Jason Pierce and Plush, this youngster is definitely one to watch.

Andrew Carden.
- Mojo Magazine

Sometimes, you need music like this. Lovelorn, lonely, downbeat, raw and gently emotional, the notes The Last Post are interested in you hearing are the ones music like this pings and sets off in your own head. A welterweight of thoughts and feelings, there are songs on this collection from Dubliner Alan Kelly and his floating crew of drummers, guitarists and other musical folk which catch the heart and trip the soul. Comparisons, if you need them to signpost your steps and lighten your load, veer from the lush heartlands of The Czars to the wicked country spells of Gram Parsons and his "Grevious Angel"; but mention of such like really is to deny Kelly a wide open run at things. For this is not the work of some somnalent soul, keen to ape the gestures of others. No, Kelly's spirit is a more innovative and precocious one, able and willing to take those extra steps which lead away from the crowd and towards another game, another set of rules. From the gorgeously open-spaced Until The Heart Gives Way to the simply spun A Light To Live By, there is little here which will not cause you to stop and pause a while. Kelly may share geographical space with many but he's on a musical shelf all of his own making. Here's hoping he has more heartworn ballast to offer.

Jim Carroll
- Muse

Home/Away live review,Katy Daly's,Belfast

No dancing in katy daley's is the sunday night haunt of belfast music fans. The crowd nurse end of the weekend consolation pints, their faces lit by the glow of hundreds of fairy lights that turn on and off at random. The atmosphere is of subdued camaraderie-like a family gathering only the bond of music is thicker than water.

The Last Post quietly make a start on what passes for a stage. It's a few seconds before the buzz of conversation dies down but slowly the unobtrusive music draws attention, enchanting and absorbing every corner of the room. Alan kelly on guitar is accompanied by the barest of drumbeats and the surest of harmonies. On record the songs barely manage to hold themselves together. Fragile with spaces, the music constantly feels on the verge of collapsing in on itself. Live, Kelly draws delicate breaths from his fender guitar-inspirations and expirations separated by silence when you wonder will the music ever return.

The sweet intertwining of male and female harmonies carries the trademark last post melancholy lyrics.on opening song Good Things Don't Last For Long Kelly sings "i don't mind the pain" and you know you had that feeling. Silence Seems To Say... is all heartbreak and longing without ever being cliched or pathetic and the gorgeous crooning signs on 'Something Tells Me' are fit to caress the most tired soul. And for a band that recall Parsons and Wilson in their hopelessness and harmonies, the Dublin accent is charmingly clear in 'Waiting'-"no one told me it could feel 'dis' way again."

Granted there's nothing particularly new or adventurous about The Last Post. It's the same bittersweet sentiments of love lost and found that have been doing the rounds forever. But unassuming beauty should never be discouraged and tonight demonstrated that those songs that make perfect lonesome headphone listening stand up just as well to live scrutiny.

HELEN TOLAND
- Hot Press

Limited edition 7" Vinyl release from a band who are "part of the emerging Dublin underground". If the other bands make music like this it must be a real barrel of laughs down by the river as this is melancholic romanticism at it's best. "Maybe in time you'll love me, you just don't know me at all yet" frontman Alan Kelly goes, and part of you hopes she doesn't, just in case it helps him carry on making music like this. Recommended listening for the recently broken hearted. Or just anyone with a heart.

9/10 Reviewed By Peter Mattinson
- Noripcord