Album Of The Month - "Age Of Finding Stars" by David Long and Shane O’Neil

Following the success of their debut album Moll & Zeis, released in 2021 and their EP Dreams Come, released in 2021, Dublin based artists David Long (formerly of Into Paradise) and Shane O’Neil (formerly of Blue in Heaven) have been busy in the studio working on their second album, Age Of Finding Stars.

Released on 22^nd April 2022, Age Of Finding Stars is a sublime album that goes back to the glory days of Post-Punk and opens the doors of New Wave with a fresh and contemporary perspective. Having previously worked with the late great Martin Hannett on the Blue In Heaven album, its no surprise that O’Neil has maintained a high calibre of music, that has alchemised with his musical partnership with Long. A great meeting of minds, Age of Finding Stars shines from the celestial heights of alternative rock and ponders a billion light years away.

It’s an album that is testament to the ever-evolving sound of alternative rock that has shaped music and influenced a multitude of generations. Ever since the late 70s and early 80s, alternative rock has grown from the DIY ethos of punk and air-lifted by the ambience of new-wave. It has progressed in leaps and bounds, creating many genres and sub-genres, of guitar-electro infused music. So when you come across an album that timelines its evolution, you get to see just how far alternative rock has progressed and which elements remain timeless and classical.

A grand work of art, Age Of Finding Stars, revisits the windswept wonders and subdued spirituality of impressionistic rock, (that paved the way for noise-rock, dream-pop, shoegaze and slowcore) and welds its fuzzy boundaries with a jolt of electronica, that rockets to the realms of prog-rock. It’s an understated out-pour of melodic rock, whose heartfelt lyrics sit in the recesses of Romantic poets such as Keats and Shelley, whilst adding some earthy post-modernism. It’s beautifully produced and whose exquisite vocals deliver from the forefront of dark-romanticism and fade into an ambient abyss.

Listening to Age Of Finding Stars is reminiscent of early U2, Echo and The Bunnymen, The Chameleons and The Sound, with a bit of New Order, Depeche Mode, Joy Division, Massive Attack and Nine Inch Nails thrown in for good measure. It’s an album that stays true to the signature sound of both Long and O’Neil, whilst blending with an intermix of folktronica, neo-folk, neo-blues and industrial rock.

Selected as my Album Of The Month, Age Of Finding Stars is emotionally driven, whilst wearing its armour with air-pockets to breathe from its soul smog.

“The album was assembled around track three, ‘stickyblackheart’, the emotional epicentre, a devastatingly depressing song about losing love. Some songs that tried to hold a balance between the personal and the general, changed in the process. Songs written last year had echoes in today’s news stories.”
Shane O’Neil

Green Eyes Sing open with the aloof vocals that flutter float aside the drowsing drones. It’s a wistful whirl of pensive post-punk, that ascends and descends into the cavernous corners of new-wave. Through the telescopic tones and airy ambience, Green Eyes Sing drifts between the lucid stairways of ethereal rock, whilst levitating in a dreamlike daze. It’s a captivating track, whose crestfallen lyrics and orchestral breeze, sail through the ship-wrecked shores of baroque-rock, whilst flowing through the fog.

Bruised jangles from the shadows of the paisley underground and harmonies from the haven of power-pop. It’s a surge of melancholy, whose spiked riffs and suspended strums, judder from the weather-beaten tracks of post-punk and elevate to the realms of ethereal rock. It’s a translucent tumble onto the rocky roads of new-wave, whilst surfing the tides of Indie-pop.

Sticky Black Heart hailstones from the black clouds of Industrial rock and wanders into the lovelorn landscape of neo-folk. It’s a mesmerising track, whose reverie riffs, white noise and sitar-esque strums collide with the stardust of neo-psychedelia and sprinkles from the showers of shoegaze. Along with the dub-bass and stabbing beats, Sticky Black Heart takes a quantum leap and trip-hops into the comatose corners of ambient-rock.

Age Of Finding Stars flickers and flutters under the glitterball of synth-pop and pulsates from the heart of new-wave. It’s a great track, whose striking riffs suspend from the chains of ethereal rock and loosens the nuts and bolts of post-punk. Along with the clatter of synths, and looping riffs, Age Of Finding Stars jitters from dark-matter of electronica, whilst orbiting around the constellations of krautrock.

Curse Of The Daylight circumnavigates the nocturnal alleyways of dark-electronica, whilst rising from the tribal beats of industrial rock. It’s a captivating track, that prowls through the undertow of post-punk and tinkles from the side-streets of neo-psychedelia. Through the menacing synths and torpid tones, Curse Of The Daylight sleepwalks through the subconscious of synth-pop and drowns by the sorrows of darkwave.

Night Poets Of Beijing zaps from the electrical currents of industrial rock and backtracks in a vortex of neo-psychedelia. Its an exotic escapade that quivers on a tight-rope of jangly riffs, whilst flying free with the birds in a rainforest of synths. It’s a hypnotic track, a cinematic eye-opener that awakens the senses and surrenders the soul. Vocally free, Night Poets Of Beijing broods from the basslines of post-punk and crashes from the clatter of new-wave.

World Passing By throbs from the heart of new-wave, whilst taking a mild excursion to the hillsides of alt-country. Through the jangly riffs and racing beats, World Passing By shimmers from the shadows of neo-blues and illuminates from the moonlight of rockabilly. It’s a great track, that time-travels through the origins of Post-punk, whilst reflecting from its soul sanctuary.

Enter The Heart And Is Gone streams through the parallel universe of 70s prog-rock and tribal-beats from the primitive origins of post-punk. Through the strobe light synths and eerie mist, Enter The Heart And Is Gone floats in the cosmos of symphonic rock, whilst colliding with the remnants of ambient- pop. It’s a hypnotic track that sonically submerges into the space-age of art-rock and swirls and backtracks from the swirls of neo-psychedelia. Through the aloof vocals and thought-provoking lyrics, Enter The Heat And Is Gone reflects from the time-capsule of new-age, creating a grandiose of haunting beauty.

Release Date: 15th April 2022 (Bandcamp), 29th April 2022 (Full digital release)

David Long and Shane O’Neill Media Contacts