The Olympus Sound
The Olympus Sound is the fifth studio album by Irish power pop band Pugwash. It features contributions from Ben Folds, Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy, and Dave Gregory and Andy Partridge of XTC. Frontman Thomas Walsh wrote the track "Dear Belinda" as a birthday present for British actress Belinda Stewart-Wilson, and claimed Stewart-Wilson had requested to sing vocals on the final version of the song[8] but she does not appear on the album.
| The Olympus Sound | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 19 August 2011 (Ireland) 16 April 2012 | |||
| Recorded | January–March 2011 Exchequer Studios, Dublin Summit Studios, Dublin Tonsil Town Studios, Swindon | |||
| Genre | Chamber pop Power pop | |||
| Length | 42:06 | |||
| Label | 1969 Records/EMI Lojinx | |||
| Producer | Thomas Walsh Tosh Flood | |||
| Pugwash chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from The Olympus Sound | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Daily Express |  [1] |
| Hot Press | Favourable[2] |
| The Independent |  [3] |
| Irish Times | [4] |
| Metro Herald | [5] |
| Sunday World | [6] |
| Uncut | [7] |
Release and reception
The album was released in Ireland by 1969 Records and EMI on 19 August 2011. The iTunes version featured two bonus tracks not included on the CD. On its release, The Irish Times hailed it as "the best Irish album of the year to date"[4] while Hot Press said it was "the best thing [Pugwash] has ever done".[2] The Irish Daily Star named it among its top 10 Irish albums of 2011.[9] It was nominated for the Choice Music Prize 2011, an award given to the best Irish album of the year, in January 2012.[10]
After signing a three-year deal with British indie label Lojinx, The Olympus Sound was released outside Ireland on CD and vinyl on 16 April 2012. The CD version includes three bonus tracks not included on the original physical or iTunes releases.
Album title
The title of the album refers to the fact that Walsh recorded the initial demos for The Olympus Sound on an Olympus voice recorder and, instead of reworking them into more a polished form, was convinced by bandmate Tosh Flood to send them to him as they were. Flood then used the demos to record some instrumental parts, which ended up being used on the final version of the album.
I wanted to do what I normally do with a Pugwash record, which is wait until the second acoustic demo stage before playing the songs to people, but Tosh wanted to hear the Olympus dictaphone demos. I sent them over reluctantly, and within about three hours he'd sent back about eight tracks of guitars, keyboards and Mellotron on "There You Are", and those ended up being the ones we used on the final the song. It was the perfect sound so we kept it and started the album from there.
— Thomas Walsh[11]
Artwork
The cover artwork is taken from a 2010 painting called The Unseen, by British artists and married couple Emma Biggs and Matthew Collings.[12]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Answers on a Postcard" | Thomas Walsh | 2:54 |
| 2. | "There You Are" | Walsh | 3:27 |
| 3. | "To The Warmth of You" | Walsh | 3:12 |
| 4. | "Fall Down" | Walsh | 4:08 |
| 5. | "Be My Friend Awhile" | Walsh | 4:12 |
| 6. | "Dear Belinda" | Walsh | 2:35 |
| 7. | "15 Kilocycle Tone" | Walsh | 2:49 |
| 8. | "I Don't Like It but I've Gotta Do It" | Walsh | 2:45 |
| 9. | "Here We Go 'Round Again" | Walsh, Andy Partridge | 3:14 |
| 10. | "Such Beauty Thrown Away" | Walsh | 3:20 |
| 11. | "See You Mine (Coda)" | Walsh | 5:04 |
| 12. | "Four Days" | Walsh | 4:30 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "You Can Build a House on Love" | Walsh | 2:43 |
| 14. | "August Born" | Walsh | 2:37 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Heal Me" | Walsh | 3:49 |
| 14. | "Happy Again" | Walsh | 3:37 |
| 15. | "Waltz with Me" | Walsh | 5:07 |
Personnel
- Thomas Walsh: vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, Mellotron, Chamberlin, tubular bells, Solina Strings, drums, percussion, samples
- Tosh Flood: electric guitar, backing vocals, baritone bass guitar, Hammond organ, Mellotron, mandolin, piano, autoharp, acoustic guitar, Wurlitzer, spinet, harpsichord, Moog, vibraphone, pedal steel, 12 string acoustic guitar
- Shaun McGee: bass guitar, backing vocals
- Joe Fitzgerald: drums, percussion
- Neil Hannon: piano, Korg synth, Mellotron, harpsichord, backing vocals
- Dave Gregory: Rhodes piano, string arrangement
- Ben Folds: piano
- Andy Partridge: backing vocals
- Dolores Flood: wish bell
- Michelle Mason: cello
- Fergal O'Dhornain: viola
- Katie O'Connor: violin
- Alvin Quatro: e-bow
- Fergal Davis: backing vocals
References
- Daily Express, 27 April 2012, p.50. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
- Ed Power. Hot Press, 22 August 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
- Andy Gill. The Independent, 16 March 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
- Tony Clayton-Lea. The Irish Times, 5 August 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
- Eamon de Paor. "Metro Herald – 15/08/2011 digital edition". Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2012. Metro Herald, 15 August 2011, p.13. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
- Eddie Rowley. Sunday World. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
- Stephen Troussé. Uncut, May 2012, p.80.
- "Pugwash Plead The 5th", 19 August 2010. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
- Shilpa Ganatra. "IRISH ALBUMS OF THE YEAR – Starplus.ie – Ireland's new entertainment site with movie reviews, celebrity gossip, music videos, games and gadgets". Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2012., 31 December 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
- "Choice Prize Shortlist Announced". RTÉ Ten. Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 11 January 2012. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- Jonny Abrams. , Rocksucker, 7 April 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
- Emma Biggs & Matthew Collings. "Emma Biggs and Matthew Collings — Work". Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2012.. Retrieved 13 April 2012.