A Lazarus Soul

I've had it on my mind to write something about the downtempo songs of A Lazarus Soul for quite some time. When Brian Brannigan formed A Lazarus Soul and released a debut album back in 2001, we were treated to some of the most chillingly impassioned song-writing heard in many years in Ireland. A follow-up was always going to de difficult. Often delving deep into taboo subjects, he proved a talent at hitting the raw nerve, none more so than in the bruised and battered portrait of the culprit in a broken relationship painted by 'Sober Me' from that debut.

A Lazarus Soul finally release the follow up album, 'Graveyard of Burnt Out Cars' next February, and by the material which has so far been made available from it, it seems it will have been well worth the wait. While considerable attention has been drawn to a more indie-pop 'Icon', which was released as a download single earlier this year, the better of the newly unveiled material lies elsewhere. In 'Stray Bullet', we are treated in typically controversial style, to the romance and the taunting passion of joy riding and stolen cars, while an incredibly difficult and solemn ballad in 'Star Of David', deals with the anguish of a closed community loosing a friend through suicide. A Lazarus Soul turn through both the controversial and the unmentionable, always impassioned, and beautifully difficult. If you haven't indulged before, and have a taste for music somewhere between Arab Strap and The Smiths, you could well enjoy A Lazarus Soul immensely. Two tracks from the debut album can be downloaded from A Lazarus Soul's website, namely 'Sober Me' and the lead track 'Only Say The Word', while those mentioned tracks from the forthcoming follow-up album are also available for download from their myspace.

Related Links:

http://www.alazarussoul.com

http://www.myspace.com/alazarussoul