Black Coats & Bandages
| Black Coats & Bandages | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1 June 2004 | |||
| Recorded | Newmarket Studios (Melbourne) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 46:52 | |||
| Label | G7 Welcoming Committee | |||
| Producer | Clann Zú, Lach Wooden | |||
| Clann Zú chronology | ||||
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Black Coats & Bandages is the second full-length album by Irish-Australian band Clann Zú. This album has much sparser instrumentation and less electronic influence than Clann Zú's previous album, Rua, and a heavier use of the Irish language.
Black Coats & Bandages explores similar issues as Rua, but also touches on themes of imperialism, war, organized religion, and personal struggles.
Reception
AllMusic's Stewart Mason expressed a difficulty in describing Black Coats & Bandages: "close to impossible to sum up in an easy sentence, because there are so many comparisons" and decided "[it] is undeniably flawed, and several listens will be necessary before it all begins to make some kind of sense, but as perhaps the most wide-ranging and eclectic band this side of Canada's Broken Social Scene, Clann Zu continue to impress."[1] Adam White of Punknews.org compared it to the group's debut album Rua, and found that it "is completely raw, shockingly so. It's a record of mid to slow paced ballads, sparely arranged and sparsely produced. The prevailing theme in the title track (and the band's press) is 'funeral oration'."[2] Maarten Schiethart of PennyBlackMusic noted that when "De Barra sings rather than whines, his voice shows a fine soulful style, yet when the preaching starts – Black Coats and Bandages is on G7 Welcoming Committee after all – the Clann Zú sound becomes pretty mundane".[3]
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Declan de Barra; all music is composed by Clann Zú.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Black Coats & Bandages" | 1:38 |
| 2. | "There Will Be No Morning Copy" | 6:18 |
| 3. | "So Complicated Was the Fall" | 4:10 |
| 4. | "An T-Éan Bán" | 4:30 |
| 5. | "One Bedroom Apartment" | 6:35 |
| 6. | "From an Unholy Height" | 6:14 |
| 7. | "Án Deireadh Scéal" | 3:15 |
| 8. | "From Bethlehem to Jenin" | 5:35 |
| 9. | "You'll Have to Swim" | 6:07 |
| 10. | "A Sudden Intake of Breath" | 2:33 |
| Total length: | 46:52 | |
Personnel
- Clann Zú
- Declan de Barra – vocals, bodhrán, lyrics, artwork, production
- Liam Andrews – bass guitar, production
- Benjamin Andrews – guitars, production
- Rohan Rebeiro – drums, production
- Russell Fawcus – electric violin, piano, keyboards, production, mixing (track 9)
- Additional personnel
- Lachlan McLean – saxophone (track 6)
- Ben Hurt – recording, mixing (track 1–8, 10)
- Lach Wooden – production, mixing (track 9)
References
- ^ Mason, Stewart. "Black Coats Bandages – Clann Zu". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
- ^ White, Adam (4 June 2004). "Clann Zú – Black Coats & Bandages". punknews.org. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
- ^ Schiethart, Maarten. "Review of Clann Zu:Black Coats & Bandages". pennyblackmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 6 November 2014.