See plays for their newest album in a new post below....lk
Pugwash – ‘A Rose In A Garden Of Weeds’
Album Review
SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 | POSTED IN MUSIC REVIEWS | SONICABUSE.com
A Rose In A Garden Of Weeds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3i_MiCQQtI
I almost feel envious of people who have yet to discover the blissful, melodic sounds of Pugwash. They have a very loyal following in their native Ireland and around the United Kingdom, but they still aren’t a band you could describe as being a household name and their success has been a very modest one. At the time of writing, under three thousand people “like” the band on Facebook and, with the exception of their last studio album to date, the superb “The Olympus Sound”, Pugwash albums are very difficult to get hold of, with CD copies of older titles commanding a steep price on Amazon. This is why this new retrospective, “A Rose In A Garden Of Weeds: A Preamble Through The History Of Pugwash” is such great news, with the band getting their first ever album release in North America, courtesy of Omnivore Records. “A Rose In A Garden Of Weeds” brings together choice tracks from Pugwash’s five studio albums, “Almond Tea” (1999), “Almanac” (2002), “Jollity” (2005), “Eleven Modern Antiquities” (2008) and “The Olympus Sound” (2011), together with liner notes from Chris Collingwood (Fountains Of Wayne), rare photographs and contributions from collaborators.
As for collaborators, it’s astonishing that more people haven’t discovered Pugwash, given the fact that over their history they have worked with Neil Hannon (Divine Comedy), Dave Gregory and Andy Partridge (XTC), Jason Falkner (Jellyfish), Ben Folds, Michael Penn and Eric Matthews. Pugwash, as a band, have had an evolving line-up over the years, with frontman, main songwriter and ELO obsessive Thomas Walsh beginning his musical life recording demos in his garden shed, trying to emulate Andy Partridge, and ended up having his work recognised by Irish magazine “Hot Press”. This led to other opportunities and, with the help of Keith and Stephen Farrell, Walsh released his remarkable début, “Almond Tea” to critical acclaim. The Farrell brothers continued to work with Walsh right up to and including “Eleven Modern Antiquities”, after which the Pugwash nucleus changed. It wasn’t, however, a case of finding completely new musicians to continue the Pugwash story; current members Shaun McGee (soulful vocals and melodic bassist extraordinaire) and Tosh Flood (musical visionary, top guitarist and co-producer) can be found playing on “Almanac” and “Jollity” respectively (in fact, McGee appears on both), so there is a strong sense of continuity throughout their history. Together with Tosh’s ex-Saville bandmate Joey Fitzgerald who replaced ex-Frames drummer Johnny Boyle, the four current Pugs who made “The Olympus Sound” together are now, without question, one of the most exciting, engaging, brilliant and downright hilarious live acts you can see today.
As for the music itself, well Thomas Walsh doesn’t like the term “powerpop” and has said that he considers Beatles comparisons to be “lazy”, but it would be difficult to imagine that people who dig the powerpop genre or are aficionados of the Fab Four wouldn’t be the ideal audience for Pugwash. Indeed, when watching the band live, McGee’s bass work sounds like he’s channelling McCartney at his most melodic and inventive. However, the band’s whole output is much more diverse and all-encompassing for them to be simply typecast as another bunch inspired by The Beatles. On your journey throughout this compilation, there will be more influences worn on their sleeves than you will be able to keep track of and I would hope that the listener will come to the same conclusion that I have; Thomas Walsh simply writes music that he would enjoy listening to. The uplifting “Take Me Away” soars like mid-nineties Teenage Fanclub with a Beach Boys interlude, the whimsical “Monorail” has hints of Divine Comedy and McCartney, “Keep Movin’ On” channels upbeat Elvis Costello & The Attractions whilst incorporating a Harrison-esque guitar solo and “Finer Things In Life” is a heartbreakingly beautiful ballad that sounds like it could have been written by Jeff Lynne (whose favourite Pugwash song, by the way, is the sublime “Be My Friend Awhile”).
The creative wonders come thick and fast on this record. “Anyone Who Asks” delivers a hard, cascading riff over a dizzyingly powerful wall of sound and features an infectious refrain that will be stuck in your mind way before the song is over. The gorgeous reverb-soaked guitar of “Two Wrongs” is reminiscent of early nineties classic indie, “It’s Nice To Be Nice” is almost pure Beach Boys and Andy Partridge’s influence can be distinctly heard on “At The Sea”, a deliciously quirky but catchy tune which could easily have come from XTC’s own catalogue. “Fall Down” is a devastatingly brilliant track with harmonies, it seems, specifically designed to melt the soul whereas “Answers On A Postcard” is an eminently likeable, jaunty track with an apt seaside holiday feel to it and if you can get through the kazoo solo without grinning like a fool, I’d be surprised. “Here”, an absolute shimmering pearl of a song, is one of the best classic ballads the vast majority of the world hasn’t heard. If Robbie Williams had covered this track like he did World Party’s “She’s The One” (perish the thought), it would have been a chart topper and Pugwash would have been discovered by a lot more people a long time ago. I have to admit that part of me is very glad that it hasn’t been desecrated by an auto-tuned Williams vocal and a radio-friendly production; it’s perfect as it is. Another slice of utter pop perfection is the jangly “Apples”, with that irresistible Byrds-like guitar sound and a wonderful combination of a verse hook every bit as good as the chorus. I could go on, as every single track here is fantastic. They’re all my favourites, every single one of them.
Selecting the cream of these five studio albums to best represent the band’s history couldn’t have been easy. I’m not going to go into the omissions, because there is only so much music you can fit on to a single CD, but I can quite honestly say that I could compile another seventeen track disc full of songs from the Pugwash catalogue which would be almost as strong. Still, it is difficult to argue with the choices made and, as a single disc, “A Rose In A Garden Of Weeds” is packed full of gob-smackingly good songs which provides overwhelmingly compelling evidence that Pugwash are, indeed, one of the most criminally underrated bands that ever walked the Earth. Truly, one of the best things about being able to heartily recommend this introduction to Pugwash’s catalogue is that there is so much left to discover after you have heard and (inevitably) loved this. Every single Pugwash album is absolutely packed full of wonderful compositions; each studio album one of those rare pieces of work where every song matters, where there is no such thing as “filler” material. Once you have discovered Pugwash, they won’t just become a band you like, they will be one of those artists you attempt to persuade all your friends to listen to, you’ll become frustrated that they’re not much better known, you’ll share their music on social media; simply put, you’ll never be the same again. Are you ready for that kind of commitment? Once you buy this album, there will be no turning back…
Track listing:
1. Take Me Away (from “Eleven Modern Antiquities”)
2. Monorail (from “Almanac”)
3. Keep Movin’ On (from “Almanac”)
4. Finer Things In Life (from “Almond Tea”)
5. Anyone Who Asks (from “Almanac”)
6. Shine On Norvell Jefferson (from “Almond Tea”)
7. Two Wrongs (from “Almond Tea”)
8. A Rose In A Garden Of Weeds (from “Jollity”)
9. It’s Nice To Be Nice (from “Jollity”)
10. At The Sea (from “Eleven Modern Antiquities”)
11. Fall Down (from “The Olympus Sound”)
12. Answers On A Postcard (from “The Olympus Sound”)
13. Heal Me (bonus track from the 2012 re-issue of “The Olympus Sound”)
14. Here (from “Eleven Modern Antiquities”)
15. Apples (from “Almanac”)
16. Anchor (from “Jollity”)
17. Be My Friend Awhile (from “The Olympus Sound”)
Pugwash’s career retrospective “A Rose In A Garden Of Weeds” is released on September 23rd, 2014, on Omnivore Records, available directly from them or from other big online retailers, such as Amazon. Pugwash are also touring the US during October 2014, details can be found on their Facebook page.
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Enjoy the full album here....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZxhxWI ... zl8DHAgKLP
wiki-
Pugwash is an Irish pop band fronted by Drimnagh-born musician Thomas Walsh. Pugwash has released four albums since its debut LP Almond Tea in 1999. The band signed a five-year deal with XTC founding member Andy Partridge's label Ape House in 2009 and is currently signed to Omnivore Recordings. Influences on the band's sound are regularly cited as including XTC, Electric Light Orchestra and Jeff Lynne, The Beach Boys, The Kinks, Honeybus and The Beatles, though Walsh dismisses the Beatles comparisons as "lazy".
History
Using the money from a compensation award following a childhood accident, Walsh set up a recording facility in a shed in his parents' garden. He later claimed he was inspired to do so after hearing that musical hero Andy Partridge of English new wave group XTC had retired from touring and recorded his music at home in a shed. In the early 1990s, Walsh adopted Pugwash as a stage name and began recording some 150 demos to 4-track and, in 1995, one of those was named Demo of the Year by Irish music magazine Hot Press. The recognition led to an introduction to US producer and musician Kim Fowley, who asked Walsh to play guitar for him live and in studio. Fowley then introduced Walsh to Irish singer-songwriter Andy White, with whom Walsh would go on to tour.
Using these as learning experiences, Walsh turned his full attention to writing and recording as Pugwash and in 1997 he signed a record deal with the now defunct Vélo Records. In 1999, Pugwash released debut album Almond Tea, which was co-produced by Walsh and Keith Farrell. Within four weeks of its release it had been placed at No 23 in a list of the top albums of the millennium in Hot Press. Following positive reviews for Almond Tea, Pugwash embarked on a lengthy tour of Ireland, supporting numerous visiting artists including Television and Grant-Lee Phillips.
In 2002, Pugwash released second album Almanac. Again co-produced by Walsh and Farrell and featuring contributions from Air and Beck collaborator Jason Falkner, Almanac was another collection of similarly melodic and retro-styled songs which invited comparisons to classic 1960s and 1970s pop. The album caught the ear of Andy Partridge, who would go on to name the single "Apples" as the most exciting track he had heard that year. Almanac track Anyone Who Asks would later be used prominently in the 2008 Hollywood movie Pride and Glory, starring Edward Norton and Colin Farrell. In 2003, Australian label Karmic Hit released a compilation of remastered tracks from the first two Pugwash albums, entitled Earworm. The same year, Pugwash returned to the studio to record a follow-up to Almanac and was involved with the setting up of 1969 Records with Daragh Bohan. The label would go on to release the next two Pugwash albums.
The recording of Pugwash's third album Jollity began after Walsh contacted Dave Gregory of XTC through a friend to ask Gregory to write a string arrangement for a song called "A Rose in a Garden of Weeds". Impressed with the demos Walsh sent him, Gregory readily agreed. Walsh then contacted The Section Quartet, with whom he had previously performed in Dublin, about playing the arrangements and the quartet agreed to a recording session at Studio Two in London's Abbey Road Studios. Gregory was invited to conduct the quartet during the sessions. Gregory also wrote the string arrangement for the song I Want You Back in My Life which appeared on Jollity. This led to Gregory introducing Walsh to Andy Partridge, following which Partridge went on to co-write the song "Anchor" with Walsh. The album would also feature contributions from US artists Eric Matthews, Graham Hopkins (ex-Therapy?), Johnny Boyle (The Frames), Duncan Maitland (formerly of Picturehouse) and Tosh Flood (of Irish band Saville), among others.
Jollity was released on 1969 Records in Ireland on 23 September 2005, and on Karmic Hit in Australia on 10 October 2005. It was met with numerous glowing reviews.
In mid-2006, Pugwash was invited by radio DJ Rick O'Shea to take part in a fund-raising concert in aid of Brainwave, the Irish epilepsy association. While the concert subsequently fell through, Walsh decided to record a charity Christmas single in aid of the association. Walsh invited Eric Matthews, Dave Gregory, Mundy and Dave Couse to take part in the recording of the single. He also contacted Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy, and Hannon's contribution became the first of many collaborations between him and Walsh.[13] The track "Tinsel and Marzipan" was released under the Pugwash & Friends moniker in December 2006, and reached number 23 in the Irish charts.
Walsh announced he had started recording the follow-up to Jollity in May 2007 and that Keith Farrell and Johnny Boyle were returning as bassist/engineer and drummer respectively, while Stephen Farrell was also assisting. Later that month he revealed the working title of the album was 11 Modern Antiquities and that Neil Hannon was taking part in the recording sessions. Towards the end of the year, the band posted rough versions of a number of tracks and revealed the album was due to be released in February 2008. That date was eventually pushed back to 23 March. The album once again featured contributions from Jason Falkner, Dave Gregory, Eric Matthews, Tosh Flood and The Section Quartet and also included Brian Wilson collaborator Nelson Bragg, acclaimed US singer-songwriter Michael Penn and Andy Partridge. Partridge also co-wrote two of the tracks, "My Genius" and "At the Sea". Eleven Modern Antiquities was once again met with acclaim by critics.
In January 2009, it was announced that Pugwash had signed a five-year deal with Partridge's Ape House label. The band's first release on Ape House was the compilation album Giddy, a collection of songs from Pugwash's four studio albums as selected by Partridge, accompanied by digital download releases of Almond Tea, Almanac and Jollity. A planned expanded CD re-release of Eleven Modern Antiquities was due for release in 2010, but did not materialise. 2011 saw the dissolution of the Pugwash/Ape House contract and its releases withdrawn and deleted.
Following a hiatus during which Walsh recorded and toured as The Duckworth Lewis Method with Neil Hannon and also signed a worldwide publishing deal with Sony/ATV, Walsh announced in August 2010 that a fifth Pugwash album was in progress. The first single from the new album, "Answers on a Postcard", was released in June 2011 to coincide with the announcement that Pugwash had signed to EMI for the release of the new collection, titled The Olympus Sound. Pugwash's line-up had now settled as a quartet, featuring Walsh, Tosh Flood, Shaun McGee and Joe Fitzgerald. The Olympus Sound featured guest appearances from Neil Hannon, Dave Gregory and Andy Partridge, as well as US singer Ben Folds on piano. It was released in August 2011 on EMI in Ireland and in March 2012 on Lojinx in the UK & Europe.
A second Duckworth Lewis Method album, Sticky Wickets was released in July 2013, featuring guest performances from Stephen Fry and Daniel Radcliffe, and the band supported Matt Berry on a UK tour. As newer fans of the band emerged, unable to obtain the early material, for limited periods during 2013 and 2014 followers of Walsh's Facebook page were given the opportunity to purchase a limited edition 15th anniversary re-release of Almond Tea (featuring new artwork), plus home-made reprint editions of Almanac (housed in surplus packaging left over from its 2002 release). September 2014 saw a US deal with Omnivore Recordings and a new compilation, A Rose In A Garden Of Weeds: A Preamble Through The History Of Pugwash, bringing the band to the North American market for the first time. A new album "Play This Intimately As If Among Friends" was released on September 4, 2015.
Discography
Studio albums
Almond Tea (1999, limited re-release March 2014)
Almanac (June 2002)
Jollity (September 2005)
Eleven Modern Antiquities (March 2008)
The Olympus Sound (August 2011)
Play This Intimately (As If Among Friends) (September 2015)
Compilations
Earworm (2003)
Giddy (September 2009)
A Rose In A Garden Of Weeds (September 2014)
