November 29th, 2007
Adrian Crowley - best Irish album of 2007?
This is a funny time of the year for releases. Most of what’s coming out is Christmas-themed stuff, stocking filler boxsets and re-issues. But there is an absolute gem of an album, that by virtue of its late release might get overlooked in the Best Irish albums of 2007 lists. Come to think of it, it might even - perish the thought - not make the Choice Music Prize shortlist if the judges haven’t heard it. Step forward Adrian Crowley’s Long Distance Swimmer, which is possibly the best Irish album of 2007. Crowley has been around for a while but each album keeps getting better, his sound more expansive, his lyrics more poetic. He has this gorgeous, pensive baritone that reminds me of Nick Cave and Stuart Staples. Also great to hear it getting some well deserved radio rotation.
Check out ‘Bless Our Tiny Hearts’ from the album on his myspace page. If Long Distance Swimmer doesn’t make the Choice shortlist, he’s been robbed. The album is out on Tin Angel Records, (with publishing via Domino) on December 7th .
November 30th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
[…] 1. Is THIS the best Irish album of ‘07? The Sigla Blog and On The Record think so. Enter the crazy world of Mister Adrian Crowley HERE. […]
December 2nd, 2007 at 5:07 pm
[…] Sinead recommended the new Adrian Crowley record last week. I really loved A Northern Country so I’m looking forward to picking it up. But it got me thinking that this year a lot of my favourite records have been by solo artists rather than bands (with the exception of The National and Beirut - the latter almost being a solo record in some ways as it is very much Zach Condon’s creation). The latest record to impress me is the new Tom Brosseau album, Cavalier, released on Fat Cat. I don’t want to spoil things before my (inevitable) end-of-year list is unveiled later this month (!), but you can definitely expect to see a good showing from the solo artists in there. […]
December 5th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
Just listened to this for the first time yesterday - it’s a stunner. Completely not what I expected. Looking forward to a second listen…and a third….and a fourth…!
May 29th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
[…] Crowley’s Long Distance Swimmer is out now on Tin Angel Records. He plays Crawdaddy (solo set with Tom Brosseau) on December 12th […]