In 2021 Belfast’s New Pagans released a wonderful debut album The Seed, The Vessel, The Roots And All which was one of our top 10 best albums of said year. Since then they’ve released “ Better People,” the brilliant “Karin Was Not A Rebel” and “Fresh Young Overlook” along with news of their second album “Making Circles Of Our Own”. They kick off 2023 with another fabulous release in the shape of “There We Are John” which arrives replete with chiming serrated guitars, driving percussion and of course another stellar performance from vocalist Lyndsey McDougall. The track is inspired by artist/filmmaker/activist Derek Jarman, and is “about growing things out of desolate situations and spaces.”
McDougall explains : “I first encountered the work of Derek Jarman through his coastal garden, Prospect Cottage in Dungeness. When we wrote this song, we had just lost our home and had moved in with my parents (as a result of restrictions around the creative industry during Covid) and my dream of owning a garden seemed further away than ever. Somehow, studying Jarman’s Prospect Cottage garden brought me great serenity and hope. In a place considered so desolate, Jarman created a beautiful, fruitful landscape. This song is about hope.”
