The Southside Dublin suburbs of Churchtown & Ballinteer have been responsible for a small pocket of significant music since the 1980s, not least of all the John Peel endorsed Revelino, a band committed to making perfect shimmering guitar pop records, each one a darker shade of pale to the last, as they reached for the lofty melodic heights set by The Beatles, Echo & The Bunnymen and Television. Revelino released three albums and received much critical acclaim if not the accompanying international success, an elusive dream for most Irish music at the time.
However, in Oct 2020, the band self-released a remastered vinyl edition of their self-titled 1994 debut album which stirred much excitement and went straight to No 1 in the Irish Indie Charts, proving there is a tender chapter in Irish music history written for these pop guitarniks.
Enthused by this enduring love shown for Revelino’s music, guitarist/backing vocalist Bren Berry did something he hadn’t done in a very long time, dusting off his Rickenbacker and slowly beginning to channel his reflections into intimate songs. Initially writing for personal use only, Berry gradually became more and more drawn into these small but expanding tunes, before nervously sharing with friends.
“Songwriting has always been an elusive mystery to me and I could never get it right or find my own singing voice. On Bob Dylan’s 80th birthday, rather than murdering one of his songs, I was hit by the idea that a more suitable way to honour the occasion would be to try, somehow, to finally crack the songwriting code. Something clicked and once that world opened up for me, the songs slowly but gradually started to flow for me.”
The next phase began with a question. To share with the world or keep these songs to himself and close-knit group of friends? We all told him the correct answer to that question. At the kernel of the lo-fi files swapped on WhatsApp messages were great songs. Get in the studio and give them the treatment they deserve!
The first release is a big one, no messing around. Winter Song is a majestic, swelling chime-fest. You can practically hear the icicles crash against the strings, as the warmth and tenderness in Bren’s voice cuts through the frosty architecture of the guitars.
“Winter Song felt like a particularly big breakthrough for me and a key moment to finding my voice. I had recorded a little chiming tribute to The Velvet Underground on my phone during lockdown called I.V.U. I sat down with it one-night last year when I was struggling with some health issues, and it just quickly blossomed into a very tender love song for my wife and a love letter to Dublin’s Liberties especially The Iveagh Buildings where my Mother was from. I had so many amazing times there when I was younger, and this connection adds resonance to my relationship with Vicar St in The Liberties where I have spent the last 25 years working behind the curtain in with so many incredible artists and crew.”
Music can strike at any time in one’s life, no matter how resigned you are to walking away from it. Reflections on time, family, music and love are the things that triggered Bren’s writing and before he knew it he’s releasing the first single from his debut album, over 20 years after Revelino disbanded, in the form of an epic Winter love poem, a song so aglow with heart and soul we can wrap it around us for the long cold months ahead.
The accompanying video was filmed & produced by Sofft Productions in Vicar St & The Liberties.
LEAGUES O’TOOLE, NOV 2023
