UK native and long-time Irish resident, Duncan Maitland is best-known for his tenure with the hugely popular ‘90s outfit, Picture House (he was responsible for penning their hits ‘Sunburst’ and ‘Heavenly Day’, among others.) He later served time in Pugwash and even worked with post-punk/pop legends, XTC, on one of their last-ever recordings, before finally opting for a solo career.
His debut album – which has already garnered rave reviews among the power-pop online community in the US – finally receives a full Irish release. And not before time!
Not surprisingly, given his musical travels to date, Lullabies… is replete with Beatle-esque pop melodies, heavenly Beach Boys-inspired harmonies and occasionally whimsical lyrics. The opening track ,‘Your Century’, is the kind of breezy summer pop that wouldn’t sound out of place on mid-‘60s Californian AM radio, ‘Terry The Toad’ veers towards more (first generation) Brit-pop of the Hollies/Honeybus variety, while ‘Crash Position’ would easily stand alongside any track on the Zombies classic, Odyssey and Oracle.
The Kinks-influenced ‘Up To You’ recalls some of Maitland’s best work with Picture House, while ‘Supermarket Dream’ could be an outtake from Brian Wilson’s masterpiece Surf’s Up. Elsewhere, the dreamy, atmospheric ‘Handbirds’ finds Maitland’s vocals soaring into the stratosphere, while the jazzy ‘Insect Under The Stone’ marks yet another twist in the album’s impressive tapestry of influences.
The playing and production is impeccable. Maitland has enlisted a stellar group of musicians for this project including Pugwash alumni, Tosh Flood, Keith Farell and Shaun Magee, Rory Doyle (The Walls, Bell X1), Barry O’Brien and XTC’s Colin Moulding. And with mastering by legendary Who/Rolling Stones/Abba engineer Jon Astley, the result is a home-grown, power pop gem. Believe it!