Howlin Wuelf Media

Newly signed to Andy Partridge’s Ape House label, the first release from Ireland’s Pugwash will be Giddy, a compilation of this outfit’s finest material to date in¬cluding two tracks from the work in progress , Eleven Modern Antiquities, which in turn is scheduled for 2010 release.

Led by vocalist/songwriter Thomas Walsh, Pugwash has featured an ever-changing cast of supporting players and special guests which has included Andy Partridge & Dave Gregory of XTC (Andy co-writing several tracks), Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy, Michael Penn, Jason Faulkner, The Section Quartet and Nelson Bragg of The Brian Wilson Band. The band itself consists of the aforementioned Mr. Walsh with Keith Farrell (Mundy, Cathy Davey) and Johnny Boyle (The Frames).

Thomas Walsh is that rare breed of British songwriter capable of writing that melodic gem with an instant hook. Having grown up on steady diet of ELO, Beatles and The Kinks in Dublin, Walsh started Pugwash around 1993 as a vehicle for the pluperfect pop songs he’d begun writing and recording at home.

Upon releasing the Almond Tea, debut in 1999 Pugwash, became an instant cult favourite among Irish and British music critics alike, many of whom nominated Almond Tea, as their album-of-the-year. The Hot Press rated it (only 4 weeks after its release) as one of the Top 30 albums of the Millennium (actually #23, ahead of Suede, Orbital and other outfits of no little renown!) Walsh was quickly deemed one of the most talented songwriters on the contemporary Irish rock scene by many journalists that side of the Atlantic. Pugwash played stand-out headline gigs throughout Ireland receiving rave reviews of their live show that echoed the response given the album. Support gigs included high-profile appearances with Jason Faulkner (Jellyfish), Glen Tilbrook (Squeeze), Cotton Mather, and Martin Stephenson, among many others.

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2001 saw Thomas Walsh returning to the studio to begin work on Pugwash’s “difficult second album” (actually its working title!) with his Keith Farrell, who had so successfully co-produced Almond Tea,. Working in a comfortable domestic set-up allowed these two to play with the toys, get in their friends and take their time create a splendid mix of songs, some old, some new. The result, after 18 months, was Almanac, which amply demonstrated Walsh’s strength and depth as a writer of classic guitar pop. It became an immediate critical sensation culminating in Almanac, being coming in #61 in the Hot Press top 100 Irish albums of ALL-TIME, voted on by the top Irish musicians of the past 30 years including U2, Van Morrison, Snow Patrol and Damien Rice.

In 2004, the band started recording in Dublin and Studio 2 at Abbey Road. String parts were scored and conducted by Dave Gregory of XTC and performed by famed string quartet, The Section (known for their work with Jon Brion, Sean Lennon, Kanye West and David Bowie to name but a few). Further tracking was completed by pop auteur, songwriter and brass/string arranger Eric Matthews in Portland, Oregon. September 2005 saw the release of these recordings as Jollity which received a plethora of amazing reviews.

More recently, Walsh and company returned to the studio to work on Eleven Modern Antiquities their fourth proper full album. Walsh’s songs and vision have been getting stellar treatment at the hands of an orchestra of highly respected musicians helping out him, his old mate Farrell and Johnny Boyle (The Frames). Guests to date include Andy Partridge & Dave Gregory of XTC (Andy co-writes two tracks with Thomas), Neil Hannon of The Divine comedy (with whom Walsh has collaborated with as “The Duckworth Lewis Method,” a duo and album which celebrates the great game of cricket), Michael Penn, Jason Faulkner, The Section and Nelson Bragg of The Brian Wilson Band.

www.pugwashtheband.com

http://www.myspace.com/pugwalsh