#9
realityfuck (Jar lath) wrote:
No One Takes Prisoners Anymore’
Whipping Boy
FIFA Records
Release date: Friday December 2
‘No One Take Prisoners Anymore’ (b-side ‘Earth’s Last Picture’) is the first new material from Whipping Boy in almost 12 years. One of the great iconic Irish acts of the last 25 years, Whipping Boy returned in 2011 to an Irish live scene that they once owned and put in some immense performances around the country’s festivals and venues.
Fronted by possibly the most enigmatic frontman of his generation, Fearghal McKee, Whipping Boy’s legendary early shows were white-noise and strobe drenched affairs, with McKee’s compelling brand of insanity luring audiences into an intense relationship.
The band’s debut, Submarine (1992), owed a small debt to the likes of Spaceman 3 and Sonic Youth with its swirling guitar sounds, oblique lyrics and psychedelic fuzz. It was followed in 1995 by an album generally held up to be one of the greatest Irish albums of all time and one that left an indelible mark on many Irish songwriters who followed in its wake.
Heartworm (Columbia Records) showed a new level of songwriting and lyrics from a band very much in their stride. It is populated by, in the words of one writer, ‘good people fucking up and fucked up people doing their best to be good’.
The music and words on Heartworm were only matched by McKee’s readiness to lay bare his soul. This deep well of raw emotion was encapsulated and tapped into by the band’s increasingly powerful live performances. Whipping Boy went on tour with Lou Reed across Europe and just as the world outside Ireland seemed to be sitting up to take notice, the band broke up.
A third, eponymously titled Whipping Boy album was released in 2000 on a new label (Low Rent) but was never toured by the band and fans were left with a feeling of ‘what might have been’.
A tentative comeback in 2005 was followed up this year with a large number of dates around the country, including eye-catching performances at Oxegen and Indiependence. Whipping Boy launch their new single with three final dates in 2011 and will be joined on stage by Vyvienne Long for the shows.
Thursday December 15 – Roisin Dubh, Galway – Heartworm show (with Dead School)
Saturday, December 17 – The Pavilion, Cork – Heartworm show (with Dead School)
Wednesday, December 21 – The Button Factory, Dublin (with Dead School)
Posted on Thu, 10 November 2011 at 22:29
