Irish underground music icons David Long and Shane O’Neill present ‘Moll & Zeis’, their debut album as a duo, along with videos for the title track and ‘Earth Moves’.
The long-player includes 11 gorgeous offerings from these legacy artists. Having fronted successful 1980’s post-punk / indie rock bands Into Paradise and Blue In Heaven, respectively, together they have created some genuinely invigorating new music.
Over the past few months, the duo have built up anticipation for the release internationally by releasing two stunning EPs – ‘Dreams Come’ and ‘Far From Home’, both of which has garnered the duo excellent reviews and radio play in dozens of countries.
The ‘Moll & Zeis’ album was recorded remotely during the lockdown with varied themes, including It has a song based on Hermann Hesse’s book ‘The Painter’, one about a refugee who prefers to walk the roads alone, some existential musings on life, several instrumentals, and another about the death of an American airman in Afghanistan.
“We wanted to make an album that could and should be listened to all the way through. It was an equal collaboration, Shane and myself have known each other so long that there was never a problem editing each other if something didn’t fit with the song. We had no time restrictions, or release dates to go by, so we took our time with this album and thought about every aspect of it,” says David Long.
David Long was the face of 1980s band Into Paradise, who released two albums and several EP’s on legendary British independent label Setanta Records and also one major – Ensign. Their most successful album was their major record label debut, the Adrian Borland-produced ‘Churchtown’.
Shane O’Neill fronted Blue In Heaven, who released several singles and demos (including one produced by U2′s The Edge) before signing to Island Records in 1985. Their debut album ‘All The Gods Men’ was produced by Martin Hannett (Joy Division, Magazine, New Order, OMD, Happy Mondays). 1986 brought the ‘Explicit Material’ LP, produced by Island Records head Chris Blackwell and Eric Thorngren. Their popularity grew as they did the live circuit with U2, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Damned and New Order. The band later reformed in 1990 as The Blue Angels.
Growing up in Dublin, Long and O’Neill have known each other since they were 6 or 7, when they knocked over Shane’s TV set, fighting over which channel to watch. Their first band was a trio called amuse with David on bass and vocals, Shane on guitar, and Dave Clarke (Warren Zevon, now Hothouse Flowers) on drums. After splitting and doing their separate thing, around 1996 they recorded an album as Supernaut.
As of September 10, the ‘Moll & Zeis’ EP will be available across online platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp, where their two recently-released EPs can also be found.
TRACK LIST
1. Earth Moves
2. In Out
3. Far From Home
4. Morning Song
5. Moll & Zeis
6. Finnegan
7. Albert The Painter
8. For You
9. Wandering
10. Dreams Come
11. Moll & Zeis (Country Mix)
CREDITS
Written, recorded, produced & performed by David Long & Shane O’Neill
Additional singing on Albert The Painter by Bee Bee
Album Cover Art by Noel Farrell
Country Pylon Recordings 2021
Photos by Noel Farrell and Sabrina Colley
“As even-handed a collaboration as they come, and rooted as much in shared experiences as a continued love (and command) of music… creative synergy that time hasn’t had the nerve to erase” ~ The Irish Times
“Long and O’Neill have gone from being the voice of their generation to the voice of 3 generations… true assets to their country and the music community” ~ The Spill Magazine (Toronto)
“Best of all is the New Order/Bunnymen-esque ‘Far From Home’. In another dimension, it’s a huge hit, and its two authors finally get their deserved houses overlooking the bay with the sports cars in the drive, before O’Neill inevitably overdoes it in a Paris bathtub” ~ HotPress
“A rich and mature sound.. melodies and harmonies that soar assuredly, building on solid orchestration, resonating” ~ Big Takeover Magazine (New York)
“‘Strips back New Order’s ‘Crystal’ to portray a fragile character… more New Order at sunrise than at sunset” ~ Travellers Tunes (UK)
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