God is An Astronaut的配器虽然遵循英式摇滚的传统，但还是充满了古老冲动与激情。God is Astronaut这支柏林的乐队是2002年由两兄弟Niels 和Torsten还有他们的朋友Lloyd三人行而成的。他们的音乐清澈而具有质感，旋律优美却多愁善感，并且运用大量美妙的电子声效。

God is An Astronaut的配器虽然遵循英式摇滚的传统，但还是充满了古老冲动与激情。God is Astronaut这支柏林的乐队是2002年由两兄弟Niels 和Torsten还有他们的朋友Lloyd三人行而成的。他们的音乐清澈而具有质感，旋律优美却多愁善感，并且运用大量美妙的电子声效。2002年成立，2003年3月在他们自己成立的厂牌Revive Records发表了第一张专辑《The End of the Beginning》。2005.2第二张专辑《All is Violent，All is Bright》依然在Revive Records下发表。God is An Astronaut在采访中形容他们的音乐是“Electronic，chill out synthisised rock ”，这是由于他们受主流摇滚的影响同时又喜欢The Chemical Brothers（着名Synth pop乐队），而将两者合而为一的产物。
第一次听这张《All is Violent，All is Bright》已经让我爱不释手，在我听过的音乐中特别是postrock这类型中，God is Astronaut创作出来的声音竟然是如此独特。
如湖水般清澈，如空气般清新。虽然专辑名字中有Violent，但是猛烈程度却不如Mogwai，而因为有Bright，明亮欢快，尤胜Sigur Ros，旋律悦耳程度简直让我惊喜。第三首Forever Lost中清脆的钢琴配上空灵的吉他，我完全沉浸在那种境界，永远迷失在那优美的旋律中。
God is an astronaut是一支来自爱尔兰首都都柏林的后摇团体，风格是吉他为主的器乐后摇。《Fragile》一段轻柔的吉他开篇，仿佛来自遥远的外太空一样空灵飘渺，但要是你认为接下来是更加延长的继续下去的话就错了，歌曲进行到一半的时候，吉他开始更有节奏的轰鸣，变的更加饱满更有力量。《All Is Violent All Is Bright》带我们进入另一个魔幻的世界，行至3分钟的时候，吉他构建的空间氛围感越来越强烈，形成一种压迫感，却在你变的狂躁不安之前噶然而止。奇怪的是，我们没有感到不适，反而觉得很爽。第三首有一个很好听的名字《Forever Lost》,不同于其他歌曲的是，用钢琴弹奏取代了吉他而作为引子，显得特别乾净。整张唱片的旋律都漂亮的很，很容易被记住，但每首歌呈现给我们的世界是不同的。when everything dies！你会联想到什么？末世的荒凉，还是万物待生的希望？专辑的最后一首歌《When Everything Dies》却奇妙的将两种感觉带到你面前。
如果你在午夜十分因为某种原因而无法入睡，那么这张唱片绝对是带你进入梦幻旅行最好选择。

小红莓主唱Dolores O'Riordan首张个人专辑。
这张名为《Are You Listening》由先行单曲《Ordinary Day》为其开道。这张专辑由Youth和Dan Brobeck联合制作完成。录制工作则全部安排在O’Riordan在加拿大和都柏林的家中。
The Cranberries乐队的上一张专辑《Wake up and smell the coffee》要追溯到2001年，当时乐队宣称他们大概将在2004年解散。在一份声明中，主唱Dolores说；“The Cranberries之后的时光是一块白板——没有压力也没有唱片合约。生命中的第一次，我完全自由了。我没有顾忌，这便是我最先开始音乐生涯时所拥有的感觉。在这里，一切都一目了然。”
“这张专辑唤醒了我的生命——一次我终于完成了的旅行。就好像是我跨过了一座桥，踏上了一个伟大的崭新的高原。我的生活和十年前相比完全不同，多了一种接纳包容的美妙感觉。
这张专辑共收录了12首歌曲，推荐曲目包括《Apple of My Eye》、《Black Widow》、《In the Garden》、和《Loser》。遗憾的是早先流传于网络的《Letting Go》没有被收录其中。

Thirty years after forming in Limerick (initially as The Cranberry Saw Us) THE CRANBERRIES are set to release their eighth and final album, "In The End", on April 26. With Stephen Street once again taking producer duties, the 11-track record brings a remarkable career to a fitting and powerful closure. Announcing the album, the band has shared the first single "All Over Now" that blends rock, alternative and catchy almost pop-sounding melodies to deliver a classic CRANBERRIES sound.
THE CRANBERRIES — Dolores O'Riordan, Noel Hogan, Mike Hogan and Fergal Lawler — emerged from the pre-Brit-pop scene of the early '90s, with their trademark indie guitar sound and Dolores's distinctive Celtic-tinged lilting vocal style — described by Melody Maker as "the voice of a saint trapped in a glass harp". Their rise to global fame was nothing short of meteoric; best known for their now classic songs "Linger", "Zombie" and "Dreams", the band have sold more than 40 million albums worldwide.
While it is tinged with sadness following Dolores's unexpected death on January 15, 2018, "In The End" is not a valediction, it is a celebration, one that stands as a powerful testimony to the life and creative work of Dolores and her brothers in music Noel, Mike and Fergal.
The genesis of "In The End" began in May 2017 while the band were on tour. By winter of 2017 Noel and Dolores had written and demoed the eleven songs that would eventually appear on the album. "Dolores was so energized by the prospect of making this record and to getting back out on the road to play the songs live," recalls Noel.
In coming to terms with her tragic passing Noel, Mike and Fergal listened to the songs and, with the support of Dolores's family, wanted to honor their close friend, and collaborator by completing the record.
Speaking about the band's concerns at the time, Noel said: "we knew this had to be one of the, if not the, best CRANBERRIES album that we could possibly do. The worry was that we would destroy the legacy of the band by making an album that wasn't up to standard. Once we had gone through all the demos that Dolores and I had worked on and decided that we had such a strong album, we knew it would be the right thing and the best way that we could honor Dolores."
With the songs at various stages of completion they turned to Stephen Street — who had produced four of their previous albums including "Everybody Else Is Doing It", "So Why Can't We?" and "No Need To Argue" — and spent four weeks in a London studio building the sounds around her vocals from the original demos. "It was a bittersweet time. The joy of recording new tracks is always exciting and one of the best parts of being in a band. At the end of every day when we'd laid down our parts there was a sense of sadness, knowing that Dolores wouldn't be in that evening to work on that day's track," remembers Noel.
The album is a strong goodbye from the band to their fans, a fitting tribute to their bandmate and friend and, most importantly, a collection of powerful songs that can take their rightful place with THE CRANBERRIES' previous six records.
Speaking about the single and the album, Dolores's mother said: "I miss her awfully, specially today, as does the entire family. That said I can't think of a more fitting way to commemorate the first anniversary of her passing and to celebrate her life than to announce to the world the release of her final album with the band. She was very excited about this new album and was really looking forward to its release. I have no doubt that she is happy now and would be delighted with today's announcement."

Damien Rice的首张专辑「O」自2002年发行以来引发广大的回响，在家乡爱尔兰都柏林，专辑销售获得3张白金唱片认证，赢得3项爱尔兰音乐奖提名，在英国，乐评界热情推荐的喝采始终没停过，让专辑一路挺进到英国金榜第8名。而在专辑登陆美国作发行之前，Damien早以爆满的巡回演唱征服了老美的耳朵，Damien接着成了Coldplay演唱会的嘉宾。整个2004年，Damien总计获得了全英音乐奖最佳国际性男歌手的提名，以及NME杂志奖最佳独唱歌手的提名，同时也赢得了爱尔兰传媒Hot Press读者票选大奖中的最佳男歌手与最佳词曲创作者两项奖座，此外，专辑「O」还赢得了2003年的Shortlist音乐奖。
虽然Damien不太想将自己的音乐归类，也不想知道自己唱的歌曲的感觉是否太强烈了，不过，不容否认的，专辑「O」中有许多关于描述挫折的歌。专辑开场的两首歌 "Delicate" 、 "Volcano" 在极为沉静的气氛中，慢慢的让歌曲的伤痛感觉自然蔓延，紧接着映入听觉的 "The Blower's Daughter" 则是让大提琴与歌声忘情的交换着彼此的哀愁，然后是非常民谣感觉的弹唱曲 "Cannonball" ，而带有独白味道的 "Older Chests" 则是在很自然的情况下录下刚从教堂走出来的小孩的声音，营造出街头民谣的感觉， "Amie" 里的弦乐适时的出现将前几首歌曲的沉痛气氛导入非常戏剧性的情境，到了 "Cold Water" 时，寂静的情绪再度笼罩，只是这回多了绝望、失落与宗教上的救赎，终场的 "Eskimo" 再长达15分钟多的时间里，Damien大胆的加进了歌剧女高音的吟唱，还让歌曲在留白两分钟后，来段即兴的心情摇滚大实验，将专辑的情绪调到最高点，最后再以 "Silent Night" 巧妙收尾，剎那间，让专辑里的情绪回归到情绪的原点。
2004年岁末，随着茱莉亚罗勃兹、裘德洛主演的电影【偷情】选用 "The Blower's Daughter" 作为影片开场与片尾的主题曲，Damien Rice的歌曲情绪再度引起另一波的高潮，专辑「O」特地重新加上8首B Sides歌曲再度登场，加量的歌曲，更多的感动，你怎舍得跟他的歌擦身而过呢？
英国独立报：「引人入胜的首张专辑…年度最棒的情歌都在这里」
洛杉矶时报：「艺术性格风采跟Jeff Buckley、Thom Yorke并驾齐驱」
纽约客杂志：「一张满是低调珍品的专辑」
新闻周刊：「一张超棒的专辑，充满着有如面对开心手术时纯真、毫不做作的情感」

Damien Rice在2003年发行了个人的首张专辑《O》，专辑刚发行，变让Damien Rice红遍了非主流音乐界。成为一位知名的唱作人。不但是国外，在我们中国Damien Rice的FANS也是相当的多，我记着前俩年，几乎各各论坛都会有人去发Damien Rice《O》专辑中的歌曲，简直可以用泛滥来形容。同时也让大家重新认识了Damien Rice所演绎的爱尔兰的音乐。这张新专辑命名为《9》，又是以极其简单的方式面向大家。新专辑《9》将在11月3号在爱尔兰首先发行，而后是11月6号将在英国和欧洲地区发行，最后的11月14号才会在美国正式发行。至于我们中国...估计2007年的11月吧。呵呵，玩笑话。来看看新专辑，整整10首歌曲。风格继续延续上张专辑的风格民谣，独流流行和Singer/ Songwriter。不同的是，这张专辑有2首非常突出的歌曲，分别是Rootless Trees和Me, My Yoke and I，突出之处在于别与他们以前的风格，这俩首歌曲特别摇滚，有点Indie Rock的感觉，听后，给我一种很新鲜的感觉，演绎的摇滚曲风原来也很不错。相对这张专辑的风格，我可以给这俩首歌曲满分。原因就是非常特别。剩下的歌曲，就是Damien Rice以往的风格，第一首歌曲9 Crimes，是一首以钢琴为主旋律配带着提琴的忧伤抒情歌曲，继续加上和Lisa Hannigan的女声和唱，专辑开篇便给我们一种熟悉的感觉，仿佛是上张专辑中的歌曲。专辑中Lisa Hannigan同样也参与了很多合声和合唱的部分。这点与上张仍然一样。Elephant是木吉他小调的歌曲，Damien Rice又在一次展示了他的嗓音，就像是清唱一样。专辑的最后一首是Sleep Don't Weep，一首近6分钟的歌曲，Damien Rice只演唱了小部分，接下来是Lisa Hannigan演唱了一小部分，剩下了结尾曲，在钢琴和Lisa Hannigan的合声中结束了整张专辑。
来自水手欧美音乐记录盒
(转verycd)

My Favourite Faded Fantasy is Damien Rice’s first collection of material in eight years and was produced by Rick Rubin and Rice himself . It is a selection of songs, which Rice says are “sung straight into the metaphorical mirror.” Intimate, frank and revitalized by making music again, My Favourite Faded Fantasy is a record that accepts one’s faults but also begins, perhaps, to appreciate one’s ability to grow up. The recording process began in Los Angeles and finished up with a cast of friends and local musicians against the stunning backdrop of Reykjavik, Iceland.
Bonus Track “Camarillas” is exclusive to fans who purchase the My Favourite Faded Fantasy wooden box CD

Ever since forming 16 years ago, Irish trio God Is An Astronaut has reigned as one of the premier instrumental groups. With its fusion of intense rock instrumentation, ethereal and emotional soundscapes, awe-inspiring dynamics and transfixing melodies.
Each of their prior releases has offered a breath taking sonic journey, and their ninth emotive opus, Epitaph, is a record that both sees a progression in their sound while still remaining true to their ethos that helped define the band. The cover artwork was painted by French artist Fursy Teyssier and fits the melancholic mood beautifully. Joined by long-time drummer Lloyd Hanney, contributions also come from Xenon Field on sound design and former member Jamie Dean on keys.
The opening title track ‘Epitaph’ sets the album`s mood. There is pain and loss at work here, but not pain and loss that are given in to. Sparse piano motifs face energetic rhythms, shimmering guitar coatings, and eruptions of dense fury breathe life into a journey of melancholic longing: there is the release experienced when a troubled existence ends in ‘Mortal Coil‘ followed by the sombre foreshadowing that is ‘Winter Dusk/Awakening‘.
The album changes direction slightly with ‘Seánce Room’ and the music on this highway is taking you someplace meaningful and special – someplace where near and far blur and stars weep over tragedies.
‘Komorebi’ is a word from Japanese. Think of the interplay between light and leaves when sunlight shines through trees.The song has a melancholic longing or nostalgia for a person, place or thing that is far away from you or about to slip away.
‘Medea’ references Greek mythology, and the enchantress who married Jason, leader of the Argonauts, only to be later guilty of filicide, a crime so against the natural order of things that you can imagine the stars in the sky weeping. It is not easy to confront such things, but this record and this band don’t shirk the challenge.
Finally, the beautiful and hypnotic piece of music that is the album-closing ‘Oisín’ is in memory of Torsten and Niels' 7-year-old cousin who was tragically taken from this world. It distils into four minutes all the pain, sadness and longing felt by many over a much-longer timeframe. A fitting end to an album that will move you deeply and call out to you to be revisited many times.