From Billy Bragg to Morrissey, Blur to Van Morrison, acts have been experimenting with spoken-word songs for decades.
Joining that small but impressive cohort is John of the Apocalypse, from Mayo originally but now based in various parts of Ireland.
The band’s latest song Newborn was released today, Friday, 12th February, and comes from the forthcoming self-recorded and produced EP The Sacred Animal. Watch the video for Newborn here:
Formed by Patrick Hallinan, John of the Apocalypse also features his fellow Ballinaman Steve Dwane.
Patrick is on vocals, guitar and keyboards, while Steve works on drums, bass and midi effects.
Collaborating with Kevin Donnellan – also from Ballina – on strings, the song strikes a more reflective tone, exploring the nature of loss and reconnection.
“Newborn emerged in parts, and I initially thought it would be an instrumental song. But then the words appeared as I was working on the music,” said Patrick.
“I didn’t overthink them at the time, but now I can see the themes of reconnecting back to lost childhood selves, alongside the collective disconnection to the sacred in life. I think we’re all searching in our own ways to return to soul.”
Drums were recorded at Arthouse Studio, Kildare by Ronan O Halloran, with all other tracks self-recorded at home. Mixing is by Patrick Hallinan and Steve Dwane.
You can buy Newborn on Spotify right here:
Or on Bandcamp at
https://johnoftheapocalypse.bandcamp.com/track/newborn
JotA’s debut single Take That Technology was released last December. The song was played by Cian Ó Cíobhán on Radio Na Gaeltachta and chosen by Gugaí as song of the day on Strange Brew – 8 Radio.
Gugaí also named John of the Apocalypse as ‘one of the bands to watch’ on his 2021 preview show.
New York based blog Come Here Floyd premiered the song, while one of Ireland’s leading music journalists Tony Clayton Lea noted it as an ‘impressive debut’.
The name John of the Apocalypse (JotA) appeared to Patrick in a dream, followed by a slew of songs written in 2017 and 2018.
“They are the songs of someone grappling with our ‘end times’, our technological and scientific blooming alongside runaway environmental destruction,” he said.
Their sound has been described as ‘folk inflicted, dark experimentalia’, with samples and spoken word woven into atmospheric and primitive alt-folk songs.
Patrick first began working with Steve Dwane on Thinkerrs, releasing Black Dog in 2013. That album’s songs were described by Lauren Murphy of the Irish Times as being ‘in thrall to Nick Cave’s dark, squally rock [while] others have a lighter, Van Morrison-esque cadence’.
Patrick studied psychology and trained in the healing arts, a background that has prompted his own journey into the individual and collective underworld – a source for JotA’s songs.
Which all bodes very well for The Sacred Animal, to be released, appropriately, on Good Friday, 2nd April.
