David Gray - Skellig (LAMCD2102) CD
The second LP to be produced by Ben de Vries, the thirteen-track album departs from the shimmering electronics of 2019’s Gold In A Brass Age and embarks on a sparser, communal soundscape.
The atmospheric songs centring themselves around six-part vocals with Gray trading his signature gravel for a softer tone.
The news is accompanied by new single ‘Heart & Soul’, the second track to be lifted from the album following title, opening track and gateway song to the album’s theme, ‘Skellig’. Recorded prior to the pandemic, the album sessions took place at Edwyn Collins’ Helmsdale studio on the Sutherland coast, with De Vries and Gray finessing the mix throughout lockdown.
Skellig takes its name from a formation of precipitous rocky islands off the coast of Co. Kerry, the most westerly point in Ireland. Ravaged by the Atlantic, the seemingly un-inhabitable location of Skellig Michael became an unlikely site of pilgrimage in 600AD for a group of monks, who believed that leading such a merciful existence, they would leave the distraction of the human realm to be ultimately closer to God.
1. Skellig
2. Dún Laoghaire
3. Accumulates
4. Heart And Soul
5. Laughing Gas
6. No False Gods
7. Deep Water Swim
8. Spiral Arms
9. The White Owl
10. Dares My Heart Be Free
11. House With No Walls
12. Can't Hurt More Than This
13. All That We Asked For
The atmospheric songs centring themselves around six-part vocals with Gray trading his signature gravel for a softer tone.
The news is accompanied by new single ‘Heart & Soul’, the second track to be lifted from the album following title, opening track and gateway song to the album’s theme, ‘Skellig’. Recorded prior to the pandemic, the album sessions took place at Edwyn Collins’ Helmsdale studio on the Sutherland coast, with De Vries and Gray finessing the mix throughout lockdown.
Skellig takes its name from a formation of precipitous rocky islands off the coast of Co. Kerry, the most westerly point in Ireland. Ravaged by the Atlantic, the seemingly un-inhabitable location of Skellig Michael became an unlikely site of pilgrimage in 600AD for a group of monks, who believed that leading such a merciful existence, they would leave the distraction of the human realm to be ultimately closer to God.
1. Skellig
2. Dún Laoghaire
3. Accumulates
4. Heart And Soul
5. Laughing Gas
6. No False Gods
7. Deep Water Swim
8. Spiral Arms
9. The White Owl
10. Dares My Heart Be Free
11. House With No Walls
12. Can't Hurt More Than This
13. All That We Asked For