U:Mack Presents: Cian Nugent – Album Launch.
Cian Nugent is celebrating the release of his fist album in seven year ” She Brings Me Back To The Land Of The Living” (No Quarter Records) with a special performance in The Workman’s Cellar on Thursday May 25th.
Meaning can come from surprising places. In 2019, while rehabilitating from a stroke
and experiencing aphasia (difficulty with speech and in her case a complete inability
to speak), my mother began saying: “she brings me back to the land of the living”
seemingly out of nowhere and with little knowledge of its origin or meaning. The
phrase seemed fortuitous and mysteriously meaningful. It stuck with me, while I was
working on the songs that became this album and it gained further meaning when in
2020 I moved back to my family home in the Dublin suburbs to become a carer for
my mother. This lifestyle change and the new role provided me with purpose and it
also helped conceptually form this album. And in a sense provided a return for me to
the land of the living. The songs here act as a way of processing change and
accepting new futures. The album cover is a painting made by my mother Kathy
Nugent in 2019 while in the hospital. It served as inspiration and guidance during the
album’s production.
Seven years since Cian Nugent’s previous album Night Fiction (Woodsist, 2016)
Nugent’s first album as a singer, She Brings Me Back To The Land Of The Living is
a bringing together of all of the styles he has previously explored – from his entry
onto the avant-garde guitar scene with Doubles (2011, VHF) to the epic and
psychedelic Born With The Caul (2013, No Quarter). Extensive solo tours across
North America and Europe along with tours as a sideman with Steve Gunn, Ryley
Walker and Nap Eyes served to provide Nugent with a greater understanding of his
musicianship and gained a clarity of purpose. As well as a change in life direction
following becoming a carer for his mother. The songs here on this album reflect a
maturity and acceptance of self as a musician and person.
Centered around Nugent’s songs, which were written and recorded with a 1963
Guild F30 acoustic guitar gifted from Glenn Jones, the arrangements on the new
record are extended out from this core into a sound that is timeless and expansive.
Recorded with a stellar cast of musicians: drummer Sean Carpio (who co-produced
the album with Nugent), bass player Garvan Gallagher (Nugent’s childhood music
teacher), longtime collaborator viola player Ailbhe Nic Oireachtaigh, pedal steel
player Dan Lead and pianist Greg Felton, the songs are mostly first takes and there’s
a looseness and playful quality to the sessions that was important in maintaining a
sense of joy in the songs. The album was masterfully mixed and tied together by
Cooper Crain (Bitchin Bajas, Cave) in Stereolab’s Press Play studios in London
giving the album a richness and high fi quality that allows the music to breathe. We
invite you over the course of the 44 minutes of this album pass the time away and
return to your own land of the living.
Ticket Information:
General Admission: €15.00(Incl. Booking Fee)
