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"tree ring
circus" - daniel prendiville
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GARAGEBAND
reviews of:-
Satanists
* Ppan
* Bewilderburg
* Stuporstar
* London
* Schooldays
* Robin
* Impulse
* Observer
* Idlescent
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"Jesus CHRIST,
Prendiville! This thing took too fucking long to come out! Anyone
who was on the "Tree Ring Circus" mailing list got weekly
blow-by-blow accounts of how this album came about and it gave me a
headache trying to come to grips with the exact detail and intensive
labour that was put into it. It's a bloody good thing for him it was
worth the wait or I swear I would have had a few things to say here.
As it happens, it's another jewel in the independant pop-rock crown.
Dan's name has always been associated with quality for those few who
know his work, and "Tree Ring Circus" was meant to be and
made to be a high water mark. Dan's music is simple and very
influenced by 80's pop, and I don't mean the gunk a lot of people
like to think of (big hair and all that), I mean this music has the
smell of forgotten hits and misses from the period. It's clean and
clear, a lot of attention paid to the drum programming and mixing.
The chords and hooks really are simple, and are worked towards being
catchy immediately. There's no skerrick of self-pity or macho
psuedo-anger,
pretentious philosophising or cutting-edge "irony". The
lyrics are pithy and perhaps a bit too carefull, but work well.
Their essentially story-telling, almost tracing a life from the
awkward dystopia of "Schooldays" to the founding community
of "Robin". He takes gentle aim at the unprepared in
"Idlescent" and has plain fun with "Stuporstar"
and "Satanists", both which have swing-tempo and knees-up
singalong piano, walking bass lines and all. The main moodines is on
"London" and one of my favourite song on this collection,
"Observer". My other favourite is "Impulse", a
very clever minimal rock track highlighting Dan's lovely Irish lilt
and dry wit. This is everyday music for everyday people, and I mean
that in the most positive way. No one is excluded, the listener is
not treated like an idiot, Dan wants you to identify with his
world." - The
Taped Crusader - July, 2004
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"80s
pop music filtered through modern sensibilities via dodgy computers
and a wonky microphone. It`s a really well done home studio project
that that takes the poppy center of UK post-Romantic bands like
Haircut 100, Spandau Ballet and ABC merge it up with some Andy
Partridge/XTC quirk and hook-magic and tell R. Stevie Moore or the
Breetles to come over to help finish it off.Translation: it`s a most
unique sounding release. Curve balls like a Todd Rundgren "Idlescent"
or the Mael Brothers/Sparks like "Satinists" abound to keep
things consistently interesting. XTC via Pursuit Of Happiness can be
found on "Impulse". We hear a lot of projects like this, but
rarely are they as cool and captivating as "Three Ring
Circus". There`s a `here it is, warts and all' spirit and charm
that is refreshing and ends up making this one Highly Recommended
for fans of DIY pop innnovation" - Not
Lame
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"Surprisingly
light, charming and unaffected set of tunes. Surprising? Yeah, when you
see fancy typefaces, arty type photography and tree-hugging sentiments
decorating the packaging you kind of fear the worst, but no worries
here. Stuff like “Schooldays” is easy on the ear and stuff like
“Stupostar” runs a nice line self-mocking irony through a very cool,
bounced up electro-pop jangle kind of tune that recalls “Rhubarb” as
much is does the best of the top ten David Essex, even better is the
mock mockney piano jingle that manages to drag both The Beach Boys and
Wizard to the same party. So be clear, Daniel Prendiville can write
quality stuff, the vox are of the easy, unstrained pop-sheen and it all
goes by in a groovy blur, course, when you start picking up the lyrics
it becomes even more fun, Daniel is a sarky and stylish wordsmith, so,
all in all, a cracking album and “Bewilderberg” has got to be the
pick of this litter, loopy tune as the sound of Macca on the smackka
winds itself tighter and madder, larks. Check this guy out" - Unpeeled
- January, 2005
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"Prendiville’s
unorthodox style is both interesting and infuriating. his smiley,
hippy songs that bounce along like syd barrett with a yamaha drum
machine make up this album full of clever wordplay and puns. although
using modern references, such as e-mail and stalking, married to
dated, beyond retro music, is a novel approach, it can start to
irritate like a bad christmas single. By the end of the album you’re
not quite sure if it’s a joke, and if it is, why isn’t it funny"
- To Hell With
- December, 2004
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"Catchy,
fun and sometimes quirky, mainly Brit-inspired New Wave/Glam guitar pop
rock!...Littered with hints of early Squeeze, early XTC, and even a
little Brian Wilson throughout! EXCELLENT!!!" - Kool
Kat Musik
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"This is the
first I've heard of Daniel Prendiville, and if Tree Ring Circus is any
indication, I wanna hear more. A fellow multi-instrumentalist,
Prendiville is also a fellow practicioner of 60s Brit-pop, whether
he's singing about old school days, or fallen pop idols. Satanists
is a fantastic bouncy pop tune recalling some of McCartney's best tin
pan alley songs for the Beatles, while Impulse has an 80s
new-wave feel to it, complete with goofy space effects. But
the real gem here is a track called London, which makes me
green with envy every time I hear it. This guy bleeds catchy
hooks and choruses, and boy he knew what he was doing when he cooked
up this tune. Not only is the melody a killer, but so are the
lyrics and the great horn section! This is the kind of
thing that would have been a smash hit for someone like Petula Clark,
or Cilla Black. Bravo!" - Cut
and Paste
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