Black Coats & Bandages

Black Coats & Bandages
Studio album by Clann Zú
Released	1 June 2004
Recorded	Newmarket Studios (Melbourne)
Genre	Art rock slowcore
Length	46:52
Label	G7 Welcoming Committee
Producer	Clann Zú, Lach Wooden
Clann Zú chronology
Rua (2002) Black Coats & Bandages (2004)

Black Coats & Bandages is the second full-length album by Irish-Australian band Clann Zú. This album has much sparser instrumentation and less electronic influence than Clann Zú's previous album, Rua, and a heavier use of the Irish language.

Black Coats & Bandages explores similar issues as Rua, but also touches on themes of imperialism, war, organized religion, and personal struggles.

Reception

AllMusic's Stewart Mason expressed a difficulty in describing Black Coats & Bandages: "close to impossible to sum up in an easy sentence, because there are so many comparisons" and decided "[it] is undeniably flawed, and several listens will be necessary before it all begins to make some kind of sense, but as perhaps the most wide-ranging and eclectic band this side of Canada's Broken Social Scene, Clann Zu continue to impress."[1] Adam White of Punknews.org compared it to the group's debut album Rua, and found that it "is completely raw, shockingly so. It's a record of mid to slow paced ballads, sparely arranged and sparsely produced. The prevailing theme in the title track (and the band's press) is 'funeral oration'."[2] Maarten Schiethart of PennyBlackMusic noted that when "De Barra sings rather than whines, his voice shows a fine soulful style, yet when the preaching starts – Black Coats and Bandages is on G7 Welcoming Committee after all – the Clann Zú sound becomes pretty mundane".[3]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Declan de Barra; all music is composed by Clann Zú

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Black Coats & Bandages"	1:38
2.	"There Will Be No Morning Copy"	6:18
3.	"So Complicated Was the Fall"	4:10
4.	"An T-Éan Bán"	4:30
5.	"One Bedroom Apartment"	6:35
6.	"From an Unholy Height"	6:14
7.	"Án Deireadh Scéal"	3:15
8.	"From Bethlehem to Jenin"	5:35
9.	"You'll Have to Swim"	6:07
10.	"A Sudden Intake of Breath"	2:33
Total length:		46:52

Personnel

Clann Zú

• Declan de Barra – vocals, bodhrán, lyrics, artwork, production
• Liam Andrews – bass guitar, production
• Benjamin Andrews – guitars, production
• Rohan Rebeiro – drums, production
• Russell Fawcus – electric violin, piano, keyboards, production, mixing (track 9)

Additional personnel

• Lachlan McLean – saxophone (track 6)
• Ben Hurt – recording, mixing (track 1–8, 10)
• Lach Wooden – production, mixing (track 9)

References

1. Mason, Stewart. "Black Coats Bandages – Clann Zu". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
2. White, Adam (4 June 2004). "Clann Zú – Black Coats & Bandages". punknews.org. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
3. Schiethart, Maarten. "Review of Clann Zu:Black Coats & Bandages". pennyblackmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 6 November 2014.