ARTiST: George Byrne
TiTLE: Foreign Water
LABEL: Laughing Outlaw
GENRE: Rock
TiME: 58:20 min
SiZE: 75,3 MB
BiTRATE: VBRkbps
RiP DATE: Feb-23-2007
RELEASE DATE: Oct-23-2006
WEBSiTE: n/a
Track List:
01. Foreign Water 04:04
02. Goldmine 04:56
03. Paralysed 04:46
04. Already There 03:48
05. Everybody Hides 03:18
06. Light Years 05:02
07. Tongue Tied 03:58
08. We'll Come Around 04:34
09. High & Wide 05:50
10. On My Mind 04:50
11. Up In Ova 04:06
12. Paint It Grey 09:08
Release Notes:
For the past twelve months singer and songwriter
George Byrne has been working away on his debut
album, an exquisite offering of songs under the
banner of Foreign Water.
Foreign Water (which features guest appearances from
Lior and Holly Throsby) is nothing less than an
achingly passionate, textured and intense album of
contemporary songs that illustrate why people have
been muttering the words æGeorge ByrneÆ and æhuge
potentialÆ in the same sentence for some time now.
Coming from a creative family (with sisters involved
in publishing, painting and acting), the
multi-instrumentalist grew up in the Sydney suburb
of Balmain, hanging out with the likes of Alex
Lloyd, Josh Pyke, Holly Throsby and numerous other
contemporary musicians.
After a number of years as a hobby musician (and a
serious career as a photographer) it was whilst
traveling in Spain early in 2004 that Byrne decided
to take his musical inclinations a step further. He
bought a guitar from a busker and started writing
songs. After asking fellow musician David Lane for
some advice, Byrne was pointed in the direction of
producer (and Church drummer) Tim Powles. The two
connected and began working together recording a
collection of songs.
Having released his debut EP æIron SkiesÆ in Oct of
2004, Byrne found his song Goldmine a constant
fixture on the playlists of radio stations such as
JJJ and FBI. The song is included on the Foreign
Water album. He was also selected as one of JJJÆs
Next Crop artists and as a result of this exposure
has since had a busy year supporting such acts as
The Church, Missy Higgins, Lior, Katie Melua,
Thirsty Merc, Alex Lloyd, Epicure, Dan Brodie, Old
Man River and Jen Cloher.
ByrneÆs debut album opens with the title track, a
tune that perfectly reflects the songs to come.
Sparse, reclined and cool, Foreign Water features
simple bass and acoustic guitars swaying on a loose
bed of infectious funk-folk beat. Once the band
drops in it isnÆt long before the distinctive,
creamy layered vocal sound (that Byrne is steadily
making his trademark) is stirred into the mix,
making the track simply enthralling.
YouÆll hear trace elements of early Pink Floyd, Ryan
Adams and Beck, as Byrne continues his exploration
into loose flowing and richly layered melodic
folk-rock with the help of respected producers
Jonathan Burnside (The Sleepy Jackson) and Tim
Powles (The Church).
With a voice reminiscent of a young David Gilmour
and the ability to write music that ranges from
atmospheric soundscapes (with cascading strings and
haunting pedal steel) to pop-rock gems to simple
Neil Young-esque acoustic/harmonica laden ballads,
ByrneÆs record is beautiful and captivating.
Foreign Water is a journey in itself. Go and get it.