Staff Reviews

Damien Rice - My Favourite Faded Fantasy

Review by Dave Hanratty

Everything sings here, no matter how dark the matter at hand»

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Damien Rice releases a new album, 'My Favourite Faded Fantasy' via Atlantic Records. His first collection of new material in eight years, the record was co-produced by Rick Rubin, with sessions taking place between Iceland and Los Angeles. 'My Favourite Faded Fantasy' is a selection of songs which - says Damien - are "sung straight into the metaphorical mirror". Those reflections appear to shift and slide from the self-aware ('It Takes A Lot To Know A Man') to the self-critical (see the barbed humour of 'The Greatest Bastard') and, perhaps, to that place of moving forward (particularly the rousing uplift of 'Trusty and True'). It's a lyrical push-and-pull effectively based on the idea of being yourself, which can be felt in the ambitious scope of Rice's new material (the longest track clocks in at just under ten minutes) but is also articulated into something more raw, heavy and focused (just eight final songs were selected for the record).
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