Lisa Hannigan | ||
| Allmusic Biography : A versatile Irish folk-pop singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and occasional voice actor, Lisa Hannigan made a name for herself as the vocal partner of fellow countryman Damien Rice before setting out on her own in 2008 with the release of her Mercury Prize-nominated debut Sea Sew. Hannigan continued to earn accolades for subsequent outings like Passenger (2011) and At Swim (2016), the latter of which stayed true to her folksy roots while establishing a more expansive pop sound. Hannigan met Rice in 2001 at a concert in Dublin, and was soon asked to join the ex-Juniper frontmans solo band. In addition to lending her sultry vocals to the albums O and 9, she bolstered his music with her multi-instrumental talents on the guitar, keyboards, and drums. Hannigan sometimes performed her own songs, traditional tunes, or the occasional cover at the shows, as well. On March 26, 2007, Rice informed Hannigan that his professional relationship with her was over, citing his opinion that the partnership "has run its creative course." Undaunted, Hannigan began preparing her own songs for the studio, releasing demos online as they trickled out. In 2008, she hit the road as the opener for Jason Mrazs U.S. and Canadian tour, and her debut solo effort, Sea Sew, was released in Ireland later that year, with an American release following in early 2009. The album went double platinum in Hannigans homeland, where her whimsical folk-pop and hushed, soft-spoken vocal delivery appealed to critics and consumers alike. She explored similar territory on her Joe Henry-produced, 2011 sophomore release, Passenger, which again drew accolades both at home and abroad. After touring for two years in support of the album, and a stint lending voicing the character Blue Diamond in the popular American animated television series Steven Universe, Hannigan experienced a lengthy bout of writers block. She returned in 2016 with a new album, the evocative and more pop-oriented At Swim, which was produced by the Nationals Aaron Dessner. In 2019 Hannigan released her first concert album, Live in Dublin, which was recorded at the National Concert Hall with the contemporary classical orchestra s t a r g a z e. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 7 Title: Sea Sew Released: 2008-09-12 Tracks: 10 Duration: 40:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 An Ocean and a Rock (04:21) 2 Venn Diagram (04:20) 3 Sea Song (03:23) 4 Splishy Splashy (03:16) 5 I Don’t Know (04:56) 6 Keep It All (04:11) 7 Courting Blues (04:06) 8 Pistachio (03:25) 9 Teeth (04:08) 10 Lille (04:06) |
| Sea Sew : Allmusic album Review : Debut album from rising young Irish singer/songwriter probably best known to British audiences for her vocal performances on records by her fellow countryman Damien Rice. Hannigans quirky, literate, acoustic folk-pop, rich with the backing of strings, brass, and glockenspiel, is more upbeat than Rices, and is comparable to the work of Kathryn Williams and Juliet Turner. This self-produced debut has garnered several award nominations and substantial praise both in her homeland and in the U.S. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 7 Title: Live at Fingerprints Released: 2009-11-17 Tracks: 6 Duration: 26:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Sea Song (03:38) 2 Splishy Splashy (03:37) 3 Ocean and a Rock (04:12) 4 Venn Diagram (04:23) 5 I Dont Know (05:12) 6 Lille (05:00) |
 | Album: 3 of 7 Title: Passenger Released: 2011-09-20 Tracks: 10 Duration: 38:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Home (04:58) 2 A Sail (03:36) 3 Knots (03:31) 4 Whatll I Do (02:51) 5 O Sleep (03:28) 6 Paper House (04:16) 7 Little Bird (04:01) 8 Passenger (04:20) 9 Safe Travels (Don’t Die) (03:23) 10 Nowhere to Go (04:08) |
| Passenger : Allmusic album Review : Irish singer/songwriter Lisa Hannigans second studio album, the lush yet hushed and evocative Passenger, firmly establishes the former Damien Rice accompanist as a formidable solo artist in her own right. Bolder than her 2009 Mercury Prize-nominated debut and cut with an effortless blend of defiance and sweetness, the ten-track collection stays true to Hannigans folksy roots while establishing a more expansive pop sound. Throughout it all, it’s her mercurial voice that dominates, a croon that can go from the whispery, back-of-the-throat moan of Jesse Sykes and Vashti Bunyan to the crystal-clear, goosebump-inducing rallying cries of Florence + the Machine and Sandy Denny in a heartbeat. Hannigan marches through the gate triumphantly with “Home,” a soulful, heavily orchestrated anthem built on the notion that “Every falling flake of snow, it has to give in, oh but we spin, and we spin and we spin.” If anything, it’s that fine line between grace and futility that propels Passengers finest moments, like the honest, post-breakup nostalgia of “Little Bird” and “Paper House” and the sinister north-country stomp of “Knots,” the latter of which skillfully entwines the woodsy defiance of Gillian Welch with the bluesy windswept angst of Fiona Apple. Solid yet understated, its Hannigans obvious gift for melody, tasteful arrangements, and remarkably emotive elocution (when her voice breaks, the heart follows suit) that keeps Passenger afloat, while the world schemes and churns beneath. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 7 Title: At Swim Released: 2016-08-19 Tracks: 11 Duration: 39:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Fall (02:59) 2 Prayer for the Dying (04:34) 3 Snow (03:38) 4 Lo (03:54) 5 Undertow (03:24) 6 Ora (02:49) 7 We, the Drowned (03:59) 8 Anahorish (01:50) 9 Tender (03:57) 10 Funeral Suit (04:00) 11 Barton (04:26) |
| At Swim : Allmusic album Review : The third studio long-player from the Irish singer/songwriter, the aptly named At Swim is a beguiling collection of aqueous and often elegiac indie folk ballads that seep syrup-slow into your bones, inducing both goosebumps and a teeth-chattering chill. Despite being written after a severe bout of wanderlust and writers block that saw Hannigan globe-trotting for inspiration, the ten-track set is her most galvanized offering to date; a languid river of song that transcends its myriad watery metaphors via an adjacent undercurrent of morbidity and existential angst that suggests a real sea change. Produced with terrific restraint by the Nationals Aaron Dessner, At Swim is awash in plucky banjo, ethereal strings, offbeat percussion, and isolated, heavenly piano motifs that drop down into the drink like a kingfisher collecting its quarry. As per usual, its Hannigans otherworldly voice that provides the anchor, effortlessly shifting from smoky lows to crystalline highs like a precision sports car on a twisty mountain test drive. Standouts like the torchy "Prayer for the Dying," which pairs vintage Patsy Cline production with a brooding melody that comes off like a mash-up of "What a Wonderful World" and Radioheads "Creep," the bucolic "Ora," and the softly propulsive, Kate Bush-esque "Undertow," utilize Hannigans gifts for both range and economical poetry -- never one to bloviate, she has the Irish knack for distilling the vastness of misery, heartache, and shame into tidy couplets such as "Oh we the wrong, we the sewed up and long gone, were we fallen all along." However, that emerald touch can also transmute despair into comfort, which is ultimately what makes At Swim such a compelling listen. This is an album to listen to in front of a crackling fire, with a very strong drink, at the end of a very arduous day. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 7 Title: Live in Philadelphia Released: 2017-01-31 Tracks: 4 Duration: 13:43 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Undertow (03:24) 2 Anahorish (live) (01:43) 3 Snow (live) (02:21) 4 Prayer for the Dying (live) (06:15) |
 | Album: 6 of 7 Title: The Colorist Orchestra & Lisa Hannigan Released: 2018-04-06 Tracks: 5 Duration: 23:33 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 We, the Drowned (04:08) 2 Nowhere to Go (04:54) 3 Fall (05:32) 4 Undertow (03:57) 5 Funeral Suit (05:02) |
 | Album: 7 of 7 Title: Live in Dublin Released: 2019-05-31 Tracks: 14 Duration: 1:05:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Ora (03:38) 2 Prayer For The Dying (05:08) 3 Little Bird (05:07) 4 Undertow (05:45) 5 Bookmark (05:22) 6 Anahorish (02:32) 7 Nowhere to Go (04:45) 8 Lo (04:15) 9 Swan (03:51) 10 We the Drowned (06:35) 11 ille (05:17) 12 A Sail (04:29) 13 Barton (04:59) 14 Fall (03:34) |