Most of the members of A Lazarus Soul have a strong track record in Irish bands that stretches back some years. Brian Brannigan, Joe Chester and Anton Hegarty have spent time with the likes of Future Kings of Spain, Ten Speed Racer and other music acts.
Drummer Julie Bienvenu, meanwhile, has much experience in lesser-known groups but provides the bedrock upon which A Lazarus Soul songs reside.
Through the years, ALS’s styles have changed (the 2011 album Through a Window in the Sunshine Room veered towards ambient/electronic pop) but, with two notable exceptions (the Byrds-like jangle of No Hope Road, the pop-ambience of A Tar Road), the collective’s fourth album is rooted in the Irish folk song tradition.
Despite the quality of the musicianship here, the linchpin is vocalist and lyricist Brannigan, who, across folkloric tracks as bare and raw as Cruelty Man, Lemon 7s, Metal Railings and Settled Kids, addresses and mulls over topics such as community life, poverty, domestic upheaval and early loves.
A low-key but frequently powerful piece of work.
