Customer Reviews

Polichinelle

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Radiohead paved the way. Travis arrived. Recently came Coldplay. The Prayer Boat is another entry in an encouraging line of UK band's that invoke the introspective soul of the likes of Nick Drake and Jeff Buckley, fallen icons both. Polichinelle is a collection of rainy songs of hope in the face of heartache, grace in the haze of misdirection.

Emmett Tinley's voice alternately floats and soars in a style that brings to mind Tim Booth of James or Paul Young, a kind of honeyed tone. The band builds gorgeous and lush frames out of piano and guitar, patient bass walking with heartbeat drums. Highlights include the pensive verge-of-breakup song, "It Hurts to Lose You" -- the line that catches you is "You write mad poetry / In your room with dead roses." "The Stars Will Steer Me" builds to almost hymn-like group-sing that would not be out of place in a darkened pub. You can see the hope in those imagined eyes.

In short, if Nick Drake moves you, if you miss Jeff Buckley, buy this. Light some candles and listen in your room. Or find a long road and drive at midnight. This is the good stuff.

i just got this cd.where have the the prayer boat been all my life?i dream their music.finally a band who is unique,talented and emotional.a singer who really can sing!i have no words to say how beautiful this cd is.you will just have to get it and experience it yourself.

Fans of Counting Crows, Radiohead, maybe Pumpkins, please discover this great band. Great voice, beatiful songs, i really was blown away by this CD. Just had to play it over and over! I can't understand that this band has not already created an international following. Please take the deep dive and try polichinelle!

I couldn't begin to tell you how grateful I am to have stumbled across 'Polichinelle' by the relatively unknown band The Prayer Boat - still, I'll try and put my gratitude into words.
I don't know too much about the bands origins but their peers must surely be as others have wisely pointed out, The Blue Nile.
The Blue Nile's lovelorn balladry has affected people that prize musical integrity, strength of songwriting and sheer sonic beauty above all else. The Prayer Boat use these special and increasingly rare qualities to draw you in and keep you coming back again and again. This is music that swells with passion and melody, it seems to have endless depth, and endless meaning - it is perfect in every sense. Yep, I've fallen hard for it.
Many of the songs showcase Emmit Tinley's wonderful voice as the musical focal-point, and rightly so, it has a beautiful confessional quality as if he were reading from his most personal life pages. On 'It Hurts To Lose You' Tinley croons like the last of the romantics, while 'Dead Flowers' positively bursts with melody. My favourite song though is the tense and thrilling 'Balance' which boasts some wonderful chord changes and Tinley communicating his feelings perfectly. I could go on like this through song after song, but I think when you encounter an album as special and flawless as Polichinelle it really needs to be heard to be appreciated, and believe me when I say - it will be appreciated no end.

How to express the wondrous beauty of this album? The words that come immediately to mind are: haunting, deep waters, honest vocalizations, unique, and genuine.

This is the first album that I have listened to in all of my years that truly touches me. Every song is a river, a river of honest emotions. You can close your eyes and drift with the stream into that inner harbor of emotions within you.

The lyrics are refreshingly original and perfectly in sync with the music.

Just beautiful! I'd give it ten stars if I could.

This is simply a heartwrenchingly wonderful addition to any cd/music collection. Emmett Tinley has a voice which will make your hair stand on end and an amazing willingness to share his innermost feelings with the rest of us. I've enjoyed this CD since it became available a couple of years back in Ireland, native land of these boys. Worth the cost of admission for "It hurts to lose you' alone. An easy FIVE STARS. BUY BUY BUY.

The Good:
To say that I was pleasently surprized by this album would be a vast understatement. The Prayer Boat? Who are these guys? "Polichinelle" exemplifies what good music is all about. Lead singer Emmett Tinley has one of those spirit lifting voices that sounds like he's floating in space. "The Prayer Boat" is cut from the same mold as Radiohead, Travis, Turin Brakes, and Coldplay. This type of music seems to be growing at a very quick pace, but Polichinelle is more of a extention of this type of music rather then a follower. This album is dominated throughout by uplifting piano melodies mixed with light effective guitar sounds. The piano gives the music charecter and E. Tinley's voice gives the music validity. This is "Thinking Music" at its finest, "Polichinelle" will make you smile and will have you coming back for more.

The Bad:
No, this album is not perfect. Some of the songs are flat and lack a certain elemental identity. This isnt the type of album that is filled with catchy memorable choruses, yet its more of a total album experience. Dont get me wrong, its not monotonous or monotone, its just not flashy. Flashy is overated, but if thats what your looking for you may not enjoy this as much as me. But you may!

A gem of an album from this low-key Irish band, the vocals are haunting, reminiscent of Jeff Buckley, and the ambience sublime. Highly recommended.

This is an absolutly beautiful album. If you can find their first cd, "Oceanic Feeling", buy it. You will not be dissapointed.

Prayer Boat has become almost a necessity..I can't stand a day without hearing at least one of their songs. Their lyrics, their arrangements: all things I've seemed to establish an emotional connection with ever since I discovered them. All the little elements of each songs, all the little additions, seem perfectly orchestrated and pleasing to the ear and mind. "It Hurts To Lose You" is definitely a classic, and all of the other songs are must-listens. To appreciate Prayer Boat even more, one must look beyond Polichinelle and at their other songs on other eps (i.e. great songs like 'Before I Go' and 'Something To Behold'). I have gotten quite a good number of friends into Prayer Boat, and I have one request for anyone that does get into them: SPREAD THE WORD OF PRAYER BOAT TO ALL LOVERS OF GOOD MUSIC.