The albums Ten Of Swords, All Wrongs Reversed & World On A Wire have been re-issued by High Noon (Pinnacle Distribution UK) in Digipak sleeves. World On A Wire also has a bonus DVD featuring the animated videos for the UK singles A Way Back Out Of Here & Talk Again...
All albums and singles can be purchased directly through the official web page using our safe and secure Pay Pal service. They can also be found in all good record shops or online at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com.
Ten Of Swords and World On A Wire have also been issued on Heavy 180gram Vinyl. These LP's are strictly limited to 500 copies each and can be ordered directly through the official web page or select record shops. A small amount of the 'Talk Again' orange coloured vinyl 7" singles are also available. These were limited to 1000 copies and feature exclusive radio session tracks.
Back catalogue from Marc's previous bands and projects are also available, including the 1997 deleted ..Where Old Ghosts Meet.. album which has been re-issued as a 2CD set, 2 booklets and lyrics. Disc 2 features B-sides and rarities. This set was issued in Japan in 2002 but we now have a VERY limited quantity to sell directly.
A new studio album will be released in 2008 - Thank you everybody.
Some Album reviews : WORLD ON A WIRE:: (Uncut - 4 Stars)
Artful sophomore from Dublin-born, Dylan-endorsed songsmith.
For the follow up to the mighty Ten Of Swords (discounting stop gap rarities compilation All Wrongs Reversed), Carroll has dampened the psych pop fizz for a slower dazzle. Where Ten Of Swords was a starburst trip from Carnaby Street to the Whiskey A Go Go, World On A Wire finds him in reflective, more painterly mode. There are strokes of Folk-Blues Dylan amid the subtler pastels, but it's the more layered arrangements that set these wonderful songs of personal faith aglow.
WORLD ON A WIRE (Mojo)
Carroll delivered two albums before discovering this rather convincing variant on himself. World On A Wire dwells in the measured melancholy of almost childlike piano, balanced by richly sorrowful cellos and (post-surfing) Beach Boys harmonies. His voice, subdued yet harnessing something of Bono's blend of innocence and experience, draws out some fetching melodies, none better than No Time At All which encapsulates his striking ability to make coherent music about inner confusion - raging frustration inextricably entwined in doubt and, ultimately, inertia. In tackling this tangled theme he gets the sound dead right. Clarity about chaos is a tall order.
WORLD ON A WIRE (Irish Times)
Each album release looks set to see him perched at the top of the food chain; each album release gets people like me in a right old lather; each album release sells zip. The truth is the guy is something of a genius; whereas before he has Big Star/Badfinger guitars swirling around collections of superlative pop/rock songs, with World On A Wire he has opted for strings of a more mellow nature and created a record of warmth, truth, beauty and something approximating a career best. If Bob Dylan raised on an aural diet of Brian Wilson rather than Woody Guthrie appeals to you, then prepare to be blown away. Is this the record to drag him out centre stage though? Could be, should be.
WORLD ON A WIRE (Hot Press))
The follow-up to his acclaimed Ten of Swords solo debut, World On A Wire sees the prodigiously talented Dubliner in a much more sombre mood. With piano and strings predominating, the jangly guitar pop has been largely replaced by a much more reflective, introspective sonic approach. In fact the starkness and barely-repressed anger pervading songs such as 'It Isn't Always Easy', 'No Time At All' and 'Love Over Gold' makes you wonder what kind of traumatic events might have inspired them (even the record company press release states bluntly that "this is not for the fainthearted"). That said it's not as downbeat as it might sound and fans of Cohen, Buckley, Cave and Cash should find plenty of resonance on this brave artistic statement. His songwriting style and ragged voice has been compared in the past to everyone from Dylan to Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, but Joe Strummer and Mott The Hoople's Ian Hunter spring more readily to mind here. Throughout World On A Wire Carroll refreshingly celebrates rather than conceals his influences; 'God's Wit' cleverly re-works the guitar intros from the Beatles' 'If I Needed Someone' and the Monkees' 'Last Train To Clarkesville' into a gorgeously realised folk song, 'In Agreement With Reality' boasts a 'Knocking On Heaven's Door' choir-like intro while 'Till These Bars Break' is underpinned by On The Beach-era Neil Young-style acoustic picking. 'Talk Again' is the nearest thing to an upbeat pop-song, though Carroll's lyrics again contrast sharply with the backdrop: "I'm lost, done in and I'm low so low, I can't find thoughts for today or face tomorrow." Heavy going it might be at times, but a little perseverance slowly but surely reaps its rewards.
TEN OF SWORDS:: (Mojo)
Solo debut from acclaimed Irish folk-rocker
Crafting this engaging outing entirely on his lonesome, with a soul full of Simon & Garfunkel, The Byrds and some would say The Buzzcocks, with songs as sweetly chiming as Crashpad Number or as soothing as the close harmony gem Silent And Blind. ..r inspection, Carroll's lyrics are clearly the product of an interesting life, always suggesting fascinating situations without ever making them clear. Carroll could become a big fish in the small pond of intelligent British singer-songwriters or go to Nashville and become a millionaire.
TEN OF SWORDS:: (Uncut - 4 Stars)
Pick of the crop is Irish man Marc Carroll's debut, an ambitious distillation of wonky 1960's; whimsy (Kinks, Traffic, Floyd) and Trippy psychedelia (..You Saved My Life.. is pre-glam Bolan chomping down the fattest mushroom), Just when you expect the canter of unicorn hooves, he throws up the pile driving fuzz pop curveball ..Weird Dreams...
TEN OF SWORDS (Irish Times)
It's one of life's many mysteries and crying shames that he hasn't to date graduated above cult status. While his fans and quiet champions will no doubt offer this excellent record as further proof of Carroll's focused genius, the realists among us will probably still be playing the There's no justice for some time to come. Power pop punk songs as sublime as ..Crashpad Number.. , ..Mrs Lullaby.., ..Idiot World.., ..Falling Into Nowhere.. and ..You Saved My Life (Again Last Night).. add fuel to the argument that Carroll is up there with the great songwriters - structurally he just doesn't put a foot wrong. A near classic.
ALL WRONGS REVERSED:: (Uncut -4 stars)
On the up Irishman offers lost songs and rarities.
Last year's Ten of Swords was one of the finest debuts of recent times, pulling off the enviable feat of lacing together classic English psychadelia and driving power pop without leaving the join.
All Wrongs Reversed, serving as a stopgap until the follow up proper, has the choppy fuzz punk of "Patterns" ; countryish lament "Nobody's Child". It overloads the pop at the expense of the trippy stuff but That said, "Mr Wilson" and his take on "Gates Of Eden" have both earned the thumbs up from Brian and Bob themselves. So who are we to argue?
ALL WRONGS REVERSED:: (Mojo)
Irish singer - songwriter's classy compendium of lost songs and rarities.
Following last year's acclaimed Ten Of Swords, Marc Carroll returns with the equivalent of a rummage through the attic, selecting demo's, folk standards and cover versions presumably intended to fill the gap while we await his next aural adventure. As ever, his pop sensibility is positively tangible, permeating almost every track and throwing up influences ranging from The Beach Boys, Byrds and Buzzcocks, through more reflective, darker musings.
The affectionate Mr Wilson is a composition made up of Brian Wilson song titles, there's the sprightly demo of radio favorite Crashpad Number, and two surprising Dylan covers, Gates Of Eden and Senor. A mournful version of Patrick Kavanagh's On Raglan Road closes the album on a chilling note. Overall, it wets the appetite for another helping of the Dublin bards original material.
Kære Marc Carroll! Vi vil hermed invitere til koncert med et voldsomt udvidet Afenginn line-up: 14 mand på scenen, guitars, brass, mandekor og en masse andet, det bliver stort! Håber vi ses :) kh, Afenginn
As regards to Finchley Rd Waitrose, they should release a compilation album of songs which inspired the renovations. Such gems could include:
"I Get Around" by the Beach Boys "Wide Open Space" by Mansun "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" By The Smiths and "The Potatoes Aren't Looking The Best" by The Hairy Bowsies
Been a while since we heard some new stuff. Looking forward to the new album and if you're gigging in Dublin contact us for an acoustic session perhaps? cheers
Abigail Hopkins new album, 'The Memoirs Of An Outlaw', available to pre-order from: www. basilicamusic. bigcartel. com The first 100 copies are signed and numbered!
Hi thanks so much for the add on your page...best wishes to you from Cork City Ireland...hope you get a chance to check out my new songs.. and maybe leave a comment ..my debut album will be out next couple of months...thanks again for the add.....Hope your well your friend patrick k
