Power of Dreams to release new singles this week

Almost 30 years since the release of their debut album, Immigrants, Emigrants and Me, Power of Dreams are set to return with a new double A-side release, 'America' / 'Across The Shannon' – out on FIFA Records on July 4.

The release arrives ahead of Power of Dream’s first studio album in 25 years, Aüslander – serving as a powerful re-introduction to one of Ireland’s most thrilling bands of the '90s.

“Many of the new songs are tracks that I have been keeping to one side in recent times in my job as a songwriter," explains Craig Walker. "They were very obviously Power of Dreams songs. I have found the experience of looking back and reflecting a really interesting one. I would only have ever done this when I felt there was an artistic purpose to a new record.”

Aüslander, due to be released later this year, will be followed by a special 30th anniversary remastered release of Immigrants, Emigrants and Me, that will also feature a special collection of previously unreleased material.

There are several connections between Immigrants, Emigrants and Me and Aüslander, perhaps most obviously in the albums' titles –  'Aüslander' meaning ‘foreigner’ in German. Walker’s years of touring living outside Ireland in England, France and Germany have also influenced many of the songs.

“There’s a lot of personal stuff in the album,” he says. “That only worked in the context of a Power of Dreams' album. There’s a song for my mother, who played a huge part in the band’s beginnings. She allowed us to rehearse in her kitchen, garden shed for years and never complained once. I wrote the song ‘Margaret’ in 2000 when she was dying in hospital.”

'America' / 'Across The Shannon' will be available to download on Saturday, July 4, here.