NEWS: The Quireboys release Breaking Rocks single and video ahead of Diamond Rock Club dates

YOU all set for The Quireboys appearance on two nights at the Diamond Rock Club on Friday, April 7th and Saturday April 8th?

Yes, the reborn rock and roll reprobates The Quireboys will be plugging in and partying hard as per usual.

Their new video / single 'Breaking Rocks' is at the end of this post.

A 10-date run of UK acoustic shows this December brings down the curtain on another landmark year for the supercharged six-piece.

But there’s no rest for the wicked where Spike and co. are concerned and the boys are back in Ahoghill in a matter of weeks.

Lauded as their loudest and proudest album for 25 years, 'Twisted Love' screams heartache, passion, tears and tension. And it’s time for the record’s most powerful themes to be unleashed.

“We made this record with a full-on rock and roll show in mind,” said guitarist Guy Griffin. “The songs are some of the strongest we’ve ever written and that comes across best when all six of us are on stage and the volume is turned up.”

Not since the band’s early 90s heyday have The Quireboys sounded so compelling and so relevant. The bittersweet title track, bullish 'Breaking Rocks' and terrific 'Ghost Train' reveal a band going back to the future and back to what they always did best.

And if The Quireboys have proved themselves masters of an intimate and intriguing unplugged experience, then rocking out remains their traditional calling card.

“We played a handful of fully plugged shows in the UK earlier this year and the response to the new songs was tremendous,” added Griffin. “Those gigs gave us the confidence to dig deep into Twisted Love on the next tour and we can’t wait.”

Twisted Love is The Quireboys’ 10th studio album and the sound of a band enjoying a creative rebirth and a rich vein of songwriting form. More than 30 years after bursting onto the UK’s rock and roll scene their incendiary live shows continue to set the standard for the next generation of homegrown heroes.

The Quireboys are: Spike (vocals) - Guy Griffin (guitar) - Paul Guerin (guitar) - Keith Weir (keyboards) - Nick Mailing (bass) - Dave McCluskey (drums), as if you didn't know that already!.

ALBUM REVIEW: The Quireboys excel on St Cecilia and the Gypsy Soul

SPIKE and his merry band of troubadours churn out excellence so consistently that when they release a new album it seems a given that it will be another stellar platter. And, that's the case with the latest offering from The Quireboys 'St Cecilia and the Gypsy Soul'.

It would be possible to just leave it there - The Quireboys unleash a great album, full stop, end of review.

But, hell that would be a disservice to this lush offering of heartfelt odes to the human condition. Whatever was in the water in Swedish town Klippan when the band got down to recording it should be distilled and shared globally.

Just listen to the yearning, the heartache and broken words of 'The Promise' strings, acoustic solo runs and a nagging repetitive riff that tugs and tears at the soul.

And, in contrast the title track, 'St Cecilia' has that wild air of people living on the edges of society, where it is dangerous to be, but safer than the world where suits and billionaire banker bask in their ill-gotten gains.

'Can't Hide It Anymore' is the song that will have every American middle-of-the-road rocker gets down on their knees, knowing they'll never be able to match in terms of balance and perfection. Spike even gives a slight twang of mid-Atlantic accent at times to add to the atmosphere.

However, that wasn't the plan when Spike, Paul, Guy and Keith headed to Scandanavia...

“The plan was always to record some new acoustic songs and rework some originals,” said Spike. “But the plan changed. There was something about that place – the vibe got better and better and we just went with the flow.”

Aptly there is a track on the album called 'The Best Are Not Forgotten' because this release comes as a four-CD package, including 'Halfpenny Dancer' – finally available again – and two discs covering the previously unreleased 2010 Halfpenny Dancer live show featuring fiddles, pedal steel, mandolin, banjo and more.

“This side of the band needs to heard,” said Spike. “And we’ll be taking the new music out on the road with our most intimate tour yet.”

That road  trip concludes in The Diamond Rock Club (tonight, 28th March) and if you missed out on the show then make sure to grab this album.

Back to where we started - The Quireboys, steeped in excellence, releasing excellence.

St Cecilia and the Gypsy Soul is released on March 30th on Off Yer Rocka

 

Review by Jonny




 

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ALBUM REVIEW: Hey you! Listen up to the gospel of rock 'n' roll delivered by The Quireboys on Black Eyed Sons

 

Delivering the rockin' gospel, The Quireboys turn in

triple feast on Black Eyed Sons release

FOR a moment picture a scene: it's a ballroom in a hotel; midnight is imminent. Languishing around tables couples get together or break up. The round tables are filled with half empty glasses of booze.

The men have loosened their bow ties and the women have kicked off their high heels.

At the front a wild-eyed gypsy singer is delivering odes to heartbreak and lullabies of love. The people in the ballroom begin to move to the front, some signing along, some entranced by the sounds of blues and songs of beauty. And, then as midnight strikes the audience gets a second breath, the energy surge from the Black Eye Sons kicks into high rock 'n' roll.

This, readers, is the scene that could encapsulate the mood evoked by The Quireboys on their Black Eyed Sons album. From What Do You Want From Me and Julieanne, through to the hard rockin' statement that is the album opener Troublemaker (Black Eyed Sons).

This an album for ballrooms, balmy summer nights by the sea, an album when played live will have sweat dripping down the walls and cheers raised loud.

Spike's voice has, as always, produced an evocative, lightly gravelled tone: angst, heartache and joy all delivered from a larynx and vocal chords that were bestowed on him by some strange quirk of rock 'n' roll fate.

Guy Griffin captures the mood of each track, whether it is an acoustic romp, pained solos, well timed riffs, mirrored by Paul Guerin's literal ownership of tone and tempo, with added flourish and flair that is both to the fore and at time appropriately restrained in the mix to allow each song to evolve. No doubt producer Chris Tsangarides had a hand in this balance.

But the band also have an ace card now in the shape of Northern Ireland's own Keith Weir, who adds the luscious keyboard background to tracks, but also can unleash full on honky tonk blues such as the rolls on You Never Can Tell.

Thirty years on and the band are still fresh in sound; never mind the road wearied looks.

“I’ve always felt like I’m 30-years-old,” said Spike. “So this is our time. And I’d just like to raise a toast to the next 30 years.”

Never one to shy away from a gargle, Spike can also do something special such as the delicate closing tracks Mothers Ruin and Monte Cassino (Lady Lane). Simply stunning ballads, careful song structures working to capture the lyrics Spike delivers with aplomb.

"Well I left my heart in a letter, at the tree where we first kissed Lady Lane I hope you'll never read" 

Thirty years? A landmark sure, but more importantly this is not some retro lame ass shtick: this is a band right up to date; it's just the world hasn't caught up with The Quireboys quiet revolution.

Is this a worthy release to follow the awesome Beautiful Curse album?  Yes.

For those who want the whole deal the top line release is packaged alongside a CD of The Quireboys’ main stage acoustic set at 2013’s Sweden Rock festival – in front of 40,000 fans – and a live 7 CAM shot DVD featuring the London leg of last year’s Beautiful Curse tour.

That live CD alone is worth spending that bit extra as a congenial band deliver to a congenial audience acoustic renditions of the likes of There She Goes Again, Devil of a Man, Sweet Mary Anne and 7 o'clock.

Review by Jonny

 

Black Eyed Sons is out now on Off Yer Rocka Recordings

 

The Quireboys play Belfast's Limelight2 on November 21st, with guests the Vargas Blues Band. Tickets are £16 and available from Ticketmaster and all usual outlets.