“Their magic lies in a total grasp of the literary genius of the Emerald Isle and the cleverest and best of the nation’s post-punk acts…9/10” ~ Vive Le Rock
“Justin Kelly tells wonderful stories that are located at the intersection between cultural inertia and edges of progress. Irishisms and place names abound, yet the scope, the vision, is universal…4/5” ~ Irish Times
"Polaris is a stellar track... introspective and poetic journey—over the horizon and through the sea of stars" ~ Post-Punk.com
“Sons of Southern Ulster’s 2016 debut laid the template for the Fontaines Dogrel….its follow up is darker, with gritty guitars and lyrics evoking a world of alcoholics and abusers” ~ Sunday Times
Sons of Southern Ulster are delighted to reveal the fruit of their collaboration with Pete Briquette (The Boomtown Rats). The 'Turf Accountant Schemes' EP is previewed by 'Polaris', a stellar and invigorating track, mixing cinematic rock and spacious electronica with spoken word but presenting a sparseness that is chilling.
Thematically, the song touches on regret, lost opportunity, death and, of course, alcohol – a recurring theme with the band. You can see the fog of your breath in the freezing air, as underlined in the accompanying video, produced by Nicky Fennell.
Formed around the songwriting partnership of Justin Kelly and David Meagher, Sons of Southern Ulster released their debut album 'Foundry Folk Songs' in 2016. Many of their songs reflect the experience of growing up in a small southern border town (Bailieborough, County Cavan, Ireland) long before the internet and the country's “Celtic Tiger” rapid growth period. They explore themes of regret and disappointment, interspersed with moments of light and insight.
Pete Briquette is an Irish bassist, record producer and composer. A member of The Boomtown Rats, he has also played in Bob Geldof's band. Things have come first circle, so to speak, with Pete originally from Ballyjamesduff in County Cavan and the Sons from such a nearby community.
"The first music I ever bought was the 'Like Clockwork' single by the Boomtown Rats when I was twelve or thirteen. I was obsessed with The Rats so when Pete Briquette reached out to ask if he could remix a few tracks from our 'Sinners and Lost Souls' album, we were absolutely shocked. Apparently, a mutual friend has passed the album on to him and he was suitably intrigued. Pete also grew up in County Cavan, so he’d get a lot of the references and the tone. Lyrically the songs are very “Cavan” in that they are on the surface often quite harsh but contain a lot of dark humor," says Justin Kelly.
"I remember when the Boomtown Rats broke through. At that time it was highly unusual for an Irish band to make it in Britain. But for a Cavan man to be there!!! That was just bizarre. Cavan men were made to be farmers – not No.1 pop stars."
The 'Turf Accountant Schemes' EP features four tracks from the band's second album 'Sinners and Lost Souls' (2020), each of them re-imagined and re-mixed by Briquette. The other three acerbic classics are 'Fear My Scorn', 'Live in the Past' and 'Stubby Yellow Fingers'.
David Meagher delivers the perfect canvas against which these stories can be told with echoes of Gang of Four and a lifetime misspent listening to punk rock. But this is no one trick pony, this EP also bearing hints of Sparklehorse sprinkled throughout.
Mixed / engineered by David Minehan (The Replacements, Buffalo Tom, Dropkick Murphys), produced by Daragh Dukes, and mastered by Richard Dowling at WavMastering (David Bowie, Brian Eno, Sinead O’Connor, Primal Scream, Suede, Interpol, Foo Fighters), this EP features striking artwork by acclaimed Danish artist Claus Castenskiold.
"In Sons of Southern Ulster, we took a very conscious decision to sing songs about Cavan as it was always a bit underserved, not just in music but in infrastructure and resources. In many ways, the Irish government ignored us and left us to our own devices – for better or worse. I think Pete picked up on that," says David Meagher.
'Polaris (Pete Briquette Remix)' is out July 2. On August 27, the 'Turf Accountant Schemes' EP will be released across online platforms, including Apple Music and Spotify, as well as on vinyl. It can already be pre-ordered via Bandcamp.
CREDITS
Written by Justin Kelly and David Meagher
Remix by Pete Briquette
Produced by Daragh Dukes of Dukes Productions, Limerick
Engineered / mixed by David Minehan at Wooly Mammoth, Daragh Dukes, The Slimmer Twins at Bog Road Studio
Mastered by Richard Dowling at WavMastering, Limerick
Justin Kelly – vocals
David Meagher – guitars
Paddy Glackin – bass
Noel Larkin - drums
Cover artwork by Claus Castenskiold
Video production by Nicky Fennell
All photos taken by P. Merchant
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