DAN MICHAELSON & THE COASTGUARDS
Lovely, bear-voiced, Dan and his equally lovely Coastguards are warm, witty
and wise.
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Also, get on Radio 4 on March 21st, because they will be on from 6.15.
B. Now I'm A Coastguard
Buy it -here-
01. Ease On In
02. Now I'm A Coastguard
03. I Was A Gentleman
04. Old Friends
05. Bust
06. The Letter
07. Crackling On The Floor
08. "Oh Hetty"
09. Your 2nd Man
10. Love In Line
Buy from the following outlets:
Memphis Industries
Rough Trade
Amazon
Norman
Picadilly
"Impressive - comes on like Smog fronting the songs of Ed Harcourt" - Uncut
"An intensely felt and sparsely drawn study of the beginnings and ends of relationships" - **** Time Out
"A set of frighteningly good songs" - **** The Stool Pigeon
"A voice deeper and darker than most extended overdrafts - Michaelson is on endearingly poetic form" - NME
"An outstanding collection of quirky and bare to the bones songs" - 8/10 Rocksound
13 April - In Store at Rough Trade East, London
14 April - In Store at Resident, Brighton
17 April - King's Head, London
18 April - In Store at Puregrove, London
23 April - Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
24 April - Caberet Voltaire, Edinburgh
25 April - The Cluny, Newcastle
26 April - Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
03 May - Union Chapel Cafe, London
07 May - Scala, London
08 May - Ruby Lounge, Manchester
09 May - Thekla, Bristol
10 May - Hanbury Club, Brighton
16 May - Junction, Cambridge
21 May - Stag and Dagger Fest, Jag Shoes
30 May - Bath Fringe Festival, Moles
04 June - Luminaire, Kilburn
16 June - Luminaire, London (with Jason Isbel)
17 June - Memphis Industries Night at the Borderline, London
18 June - Night And Day Cafe, Manchester (with Jason Isbel)
20 July - Cluny, Newcastle (with The Leisure Society)
21 July - Academy 3, Manchester (with The Leisure Society)
22 July - ULU, London (with The Leisure Society)
23 July - Thekla, Bristol (with The Leisure Society)
29 August - Dukebox Festival, Belfast
01 September - Glee Club w/ the Dodos, Birmingham
02 September - Thekla w/ the Dodos, Bristol
03 September - Bush Hall w/ the Dodos, London
04 September - King Tuts w/ the Dodos, Glasgow
05 September - Ruby Lounge w/ the Dodos, Manchester
12 September - End Of The Road Festival
14 September - Cafe De La Danse w/ Magnolia Electric Co., Paris
18 September - Acoustica @ The Exeter Phoenix
04 October - Joiners, Southampton
05 October - Cellars, Portsmouth
06 October - Louisiana, Bristol
08 October - CLWB Ifor Bach, Cardiff
09 October - Ruby Lounge, Manchester
10 October - King Tuts, Glasgow
11 October - Nation Of Shopkeepers, Leeds
12 October - Duchess, York
13 October - Academy 3, Birmingham
14 October - Bodega, Nottingham
19 October - Instore at Puregroove, London
20 October - Prince Albert, Brighton
Booking
Recorded over two sessions at The Premises (solar powered) studios in Hackney with Dan at the helm, a bunch of friends took some rare, usually impossible, time out from their hectic schedules to lay down or rather, 'look after' the record. Those present; Henry Spenner (Fields), Laurie Earle (Absentee) Arnulf Lindner (Ed Harcourt), Romeo Stodart (Magic Numbers), Tom Gorbut and Henry Clarke (Rumblestrips), and Steven Adams (Broken Family Band).
Throw in Icelandic producer Valgeir Sigurdsson (Bjork/Bonnie Prince Billy/ Nico Murly), and further production duties of Nick Terry (Bernard Butler/Duke Special/Libertines) and Dan Michaelson himself, you would say its an album in very safe hands indeed. In fact, as Dan explains, possibly recalling those days when The Million Dollar Quartet got together...
"If you listen, they're all just talking in the background" as well as making a record they're all friends hanging out, eating, drinking and inspiring each other - that’s what happened here. The Coastguards are all great friends that happen to be some of the players I respect the most, so why wouldn't we make a record together?"
Originally conceived as an attempt to re-address the bare bones of Dan's songwriting, avoiding the wryly humorous choruses and guitar solos that dominate his records with Absentee, he began working on the 'Saltwater' sessions alone.
"The Coastguards allows me to think outside of Absentee, I can tell instantly whether a song would gain from the dynamics of Absentee or the "breathing space" and stillness that is a more Coastguards sound. Absentee takes a song and runs with it, Coastguards pitches the song up just enough to be heard."
The resulting album is a grand departure from Dan's previous recordings. With the original demos recorded on a cheap, suitably heartbroken, dusty, little out of tune piano, this time it's a more mellow, beautiful affair embracing the grace of Cat Power and that similar tenderness-brutality mix that Leonard Cohen does so well. It offers a newfound intimacy and confidence in uncomfortable silences. And not surprisingly, it's another record about being in love - the real honest, nuts and bolts of it.
"The album is dedicated to trying to describe dealing with your own and unavoidably other peoples emotions, and how they change. There's the line "it's not like it used to be" when my toes are searching for your feet in bed". It describes as best I can how unfamiliar loneliness can be, and the little things that make you realise you miss, need or don't need another person."
A record then where Michaelson, in the company of friends lets his guard down, lets the mask slip and produces music of rare honesty and intimacy.
