Interview with The Brilliant Trees

After a staggering 14-year hiatus, there appears to be a real sense of unfinished business with the return of the Brilliant Trees. It’s a testament to their popularity that after almost two decades out of the limelight, their new single ‘I Know, I Know’ crashed straight into the iTunes charts at number three on the day of its release. For good measure, they sold out a show at the Grand Social – without putting up a single poster!

“It’s really humbling and emotional,” says guitar player Tony Barrett. “We’re older guys and you think you’re hardened up, but it was really lovely.”

You can hardly describe two decades away from music as your typical sabbatical. But as singer Alan Hoey puts it on one of their most popular tracks, ‘Talent’: “You can say, at least you tried / Don’t waste your talent”. These lyrics kept haunting the group and they decided to give it another shot.

“We always kept our hand in when it came to writing songs,” notes Tony. “I’ve a studio here in my garden. Myself and Alan (Hoey) started to listen back to songs we recorded from eight years ago and we really liked them. We always felt we had better in us – ‘I Know, I Know’ is an example of the standard we can get to. So that’s why we’re back, because we think we’ve good songs.”

It’s no exaggeration to state that the Brilliant Trees did give it their best damn shot the first time round – releasing three well received albums and several hit singles.

Indeed, Matchbox 20 keyboard player Joey Hufmann was so impressed when he heard them in the studio one night, after popping his head in to say hi, that he insisted on playing one of their tracks.

Even allowing for the more glamorous elements of the band’s career, it was a time when everything was done on a shoestring budget. With no major label to back them, Brilliant Trees found themselves sleeping on studio floors and catnapping against amps and guitar cases, as their van travelled through the dead of night to their next gig.

“We never had a record deal that we deserved and we never moved up the ladder,” reflects Hoey. “We could never make a living from it and we were burned out. Even when we had the albums out, we were never full-time musicians. Everyone had regular jobs even when the band was together. We’ve all got families and mortgages, and music took a backseat. It was an intense 12 years – we did three tours of the States and two tours of Germany, and it was all done in the back of a van!”

Tony feels the band never received the credit they deserved.

“When I think about it, ‘Home’, ‘Talent’, ‘Heartstrings’ and ‘Let It All Go’ are probably some of the best songs every released in this country,” he says. “They just got totally blanked. You feel like you’re banging your head against the wall.”

Brilliant Trees are now working on a new album, provisionally titled Casement Park, in honour of the Finglas Street on which they all grew up. Their next concert, meanwhile, is being film by award-winning production company Timesnap. They plan to have the album out by March.

“We’re excited about it,” says Alan. “I reckon it’ll be our best work, and with a bit of luck we’ll get some attention from it. There was a time when it was, ‘Oh, let’s try to get signed’. But it doesn’t bother us in the slightest now. If we can record our own stuff and get it out there, that’s good. And if the band gets a little bit bigger, even better again.”

‘I Know I Know’ is available to download from iTunes. The Brilliant Trees play the Grand Social, Dublin on October 14.