British Sea Power – Man of Aran

*** This is our song of the week (#7) and will be played on The Golden Maverick’s PowerFM show (99.5 FM) this Friday afternoon ***

The Aran Islands are situated off the coast of Clare in the west of Ireland. All 3 are rugged and spectacularly beautiful. I remember waking up on a beach on Inis Thiar many moons ago and thinking I had washed up in paradise such was the beauty all around. That realisation emerged despite a throbbing and acutely painful reminder of the previous night (the inflicting instrument of my destruction was a banned potato based liquid if you must know). If you ever visit the islands they will leave an indelible mark. Despite the undoubted development they retain a uniquely Irish sense of themselves, the fact that the locals still (mostly) speak Gaeilge merely emphasises the point. So what would you think of an English band named British Sea Power soundtracking a 1934 documentary about the islands? In theory it shouldn’t work, in practise the results are devastatingly apparent. BSP are no ordinary band (they are coastal for one) so that certainly helps but they’ve also shorn themselves of many of their own idiosyncrasies to create a piece that not only colours the black and white images but also manages to send a shiver down the spine amid the vividly stark and primitive life of an Islander in the early part of the last century. ‘Man of Aran’, the soundtrack, is a moody, largely voiceless, exhilarating ride that’ll sweep you off your feet like a wintry Atlantic gale. It will take ‘Man of Aran’ beyond its traditional base to an audience that will have a feast of the senses to gorge on. KD

British Sea Power – No Man Is An Archipelago

More Info: Official & Myspace
Buy Songs: British Sea Power
Year: 2009