No Flowers Grow In Cement Gardens by A Lazarus Soul.

Storm Bert has been battering Britain for the past two days, so I haven’t left the house since Friday. I thought I would pass the time this evening by telling you about my latest CD which arrived a few days ago. It is called No Flowers Grow In Cement Gardens by an Irish band A Lazarus Soul. I discovered this group only a couple of weeks ago when Christy Moore covered two of their songs on his latest recording. The band are Anton Hegarty – Bass, Julie Bienvenu – Drums, Joe Chester – Guitars, Keyboards, BVs, String Arrangements, and Briany Brannigan – Vocals. All the songs are written by Briany. The groups name comes from his nickname Lazarus which his mother gave him because of all the childhood illnesses that he overcame. The front and back covers are both associated with St Brigid with a Brigid’s Cross on the front and a Brigeod (small handmade doll) on the back. I think this might be ironic because hanging up a Brigid Cross is supposed to bring you peace, protection, and prosperity, but that doesn’t apply to a lot of the downtrodden people who inhabit Briany’s songs. 

I wish a lyric sheet had been included because I like studying lyrics and have had trouble sometimes understanding what the songs are about. Because of finding the band via Christy I think I was expecting to hear some simple acoustic folk songs. There are elements of that, but I would describe the sound as indie folk-rock. It can get quite heavy at times. The subject matter of the songs shows Briany has a great social conscience, dealing with the problems of people living on the margins of society. The opening track Black Maria begins with an eerie keyboard sound before the ominous sound of drums and bass kick in. A Black Maria is a police van. The song appears to be about the erosion of civil liberties and the right to protest. I did manage to find the lyrics to the second song The Flower I Flung In Her Grave and it shows what a great poetic lyricist Briany is, almost like a nature poet, for instance-, ‘There's a blaze upon the bog, On sphagnum mattresses we lie, Through the dewy dusk we'd roam, where the outlands were our own, We were the catchers of the spark, Blacklisted lovers in the dark, & that swan, a soul in flight, Those dark wings cutting through the night’. 

Sound wise I was reminded of Damien Dempsey, but that is probably due to the Dublin accent. The Dealers is a much gentler sounding song, more like what I was expecting to hear. It tells the story of two market traders Bridie and Jessie who dream of better days. Fuzz fiddle legend Steve Wickham of Waterboys fame adds a great sound to this track and one other with violin and viola.(See video below) Julie’s drums return to the fore on G.I.M which means Garda Information Message which is a green official written warning issued by the Gardaí to let people know of a threat to their life. They have to be delivered by hand, accompanied by a leaflet advising how to take basic security measures. 

New Jewels is a deceptively gentle song, but with tragic lyrics, and I’m not sure what it all means. Wildflowers is a great very rowdy song that reminds me of The Pogues. I’m sure this song must go down a storm when performed live. Diver Walsh and Glass Swans are two poetic songs with such enigmatic words I wouldn’t attempt to explain them. Factory Fada is a lot easier to understand for the likes of me. I think Fada must mean fodder. It’s about people whose destiny is set by the age of eleven. It is the sad story of two friends Francis Fitzgerald and Francis Maguire who suffer at the hands of a sadistic teacher. It begins with a quite folkie sound before descending into a chaotic cacophony. The final track No Flowers gave the album its title. It features a little sample of the late reggae legend Lee Scratch Perry. I have enjoyed listening to this album the last few days. I think I will grow to love it after a few more plays. It took me a few plays to really get into Lankum a few years ago, so I expect the same will apply to A Lazarus Soul. I think they would be very popular if they played Glastonbury next summer.