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STOP THE LIGHTS

by The Walls

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Comes in a beautiful 8-panel gatefold digipak.

    For the artwork a five-meter high installation was designed and constructed by Conor & David, one of Ireland’s best graphic design partnerships. It’s a tribute to influential characters past & present, family, band members and people that the band wanted to remember. Spot the likes of Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, WB Yeats and many more amongst the faces.

    "An ambitious record with countless layers and textures, so lovingly created (the art work is beautiful), that truly reaffirms the belief that great long plays are still being written and produced…sublime." Louder than War May 10th 2012

    Includes unlimited streaming of STOP THE LIGHTS via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days

      €12 EUR

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Also a high res pdf of the album cover and a great time-lapse clip of the graphic designers putting it all together.
    Purchasable with gift card

      €9 EUR  or more

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 5 The Walls releases available on Bandcamp and save 15%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of STRAY SPARKS, REMIXED, STOP THE LIGHTS, NEW DAWN BREAKING, and HI-LO. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      €34 EUR or more (15% OFF)

     

1.
I was 13 when we packed up in the city and moved out west to a town in the country everybody thought that we were so lucky but I wasn’t all that sure can you ever really take the city from the boy well the first thing I missed was all the noise it was so damn quiet I found it hard to sleep at night in country town if you’re gonna be a blow-in you have to be tough and gain respect there’s no point in running to the priest or running back home I never let anybody see me cry that only happened once in bed at night I missed my friends and I wondered what they were doing CHORUS out of the dark, into the light we go bird in a cage, what are you waiting for out of the dark, into the light we go bird in a cage, somebody let it go we ran a little shoe shop down on the main street business was bad so we diversified we sold fishing rods, knitting wool and ex-army gear. one day my dad got in a mighty rage when I was left in charge, I always gave wrong change so instead I was given the job of fitting the shoes CHORUS I’d say it took us just about two years till we were settled in and had nothing to fear we were right on the edge the world with the setting sun my brothers and sisters what would we have done without each other we couldn’t have won we made good friends and I still keep in touch today CHORUS x 2
2.
I said prayer, under the stair, To end my despair You rolled the dice, looked in my eyes Now i’m on the mend I found some faith, But i had a long long time to wait Chorus I stood there frozen on the shoreline Watching the world around me swim Just then the black clouds started forming These seeds we sow Watching them sprout Watching them grow Like butterflies When something is born Something else dies Your soldier’s heart It would take a lot to break apart Chorus I stood there frozen on the shoreline Watching the world around me swim Just then the black clouds started forming (intrumental) Chorus I stood there frozen on the shoreline Watching the world around me swim Just then the black clouds started forming My precious one, you are the light You are the sun We’re not gonna give out Not gonna give up ‘cos this is the start
3.
I’ll tell you now I don’t believe, in any faith or creed but I know there have been times, someone was watching over me a close call on the road, makes you think about the days they will come and they will go, it’s like I’m walking on a blade and the strangest revelation flashed before my eyes now I’m lighter than the wind, lighter than a butterfly and the rainbows will come and disappear but where’s the pot of gold and the light in your head won’t re-appear if you don’t let it show my heart is pounding like a drum, I light a cigarrette helmet shaking in my hands, that was the closest yet I always felt I had nine lives, but I don’t know which one I’m on like a gambler with a dice, will I shoot or will I run? and the rainbows will come and disappear but where’s the pot of gold and the light in your head won’t re-appear unless you change the way you look at the world change the way you look at your world and the rain that’s running down my face is hiding the tears and I know I’ll escape this lonely place if I change the way I look at the world change the way I look at the world
4.
It was like the great escape Two of us making haste Through blinking cities and countryside These old French towns are quiet Well they must have a lot to hide Close the shutters, tell a lie Yeah, they must have a lot to hide Close those shutters, tell a lie We loved each other in twenty towns In hotel rooms and a waitress’s house Up narrow stairs in creaking beds On pillows full of prayers Left behind still unheard Until that moment undisturbed Left behind still unheard Until that moment undisturbed I bought you perfume in Italy It made me sneeze must be an allergy When we slept out in the woods the devil kept away from us while we were sleeping in our car out beneath the guilty stars while we were sleeping in our car someone else, was standing guard And did I give it all back to you? Well about that I’m not so sure Nature cannot tow the line When you’re born under a sign When you’re built to a design You spend your life trying to unwind Now we’re back beneath those stars and this is who we are I had a dream we were lifted off our feet We floated over broken glass
5.
You can moan, but no one’s going to drive you home This time you’re on your own, for a change In the dark, watch out for the broken hearts They hang around the empty parks in the rain It’s a curse. Daddy says you have to work He can’t pay for college books, or holidays He’s back at home, Don’t ask him where the money’s gone If it was ever there at all, was it fake? It goes without saying, as the saying the saying goes you asked for more and the honey flowed you had it all not so long ago It goes without saying, as the saying goes It’s a wicked world everybody knows But nobody cares, they’ve heard it all before In the queue, standing with his back to you There’s a boy you once knew, he turns away Such a shame, he always was the brightest spark Now it’s a one-way ticket and a shot in the dark A one-way ticket and a shot in the dark CHORUS It goes without saying, as the saying the saying goes you asked for more and the honey flowed you had it all but you didn’t know MIDDLE 8 but when you’re lost inside the dance you’re in a different world the music swirls, your body twirls, and you forget about it all until the curtain falls, until the lights come on and we all applaud CHORUS It goes without saying, as the saying goes It’s a wicked world everybody knows you had it all but you lost control It goes without saying, as the saying goes you asked for more and the honey flowed you’ve got it all but you just don’t know what price would you pay for a happy life a red rose and a bleeding heart? or a one way ticket and a shot in the dark a one way ticket and a shot in the dark It goes without saying, as the saying goes you asked for more and the honey flowed you’ve got it all but you just don’t know
6.
Dead Flowers 03:46
everybody’s glued to the papers the killer got what he deserved the judge sighed, his sister cried when the man in the dock found out he got life (the jury finds you guilty) alone, alone with the truth and knowing that the truth be known (the days will slowly pass) what goes around is gonna come around that summer I remember a saturday in a wet july through a sea of bent umbrellas duck down low better watch your eye (those eyes are always on you) and then I felt a hand at my back somebody trying to take my stash (they’re always on the make) a pickpocket, a pickpocket with his hand on my wallet CHORUS is nothing sacred in this goddamn town they’ll steal anything if it’s not tied down what goes around is gonna come around there’s nothing left in this dirty old town that makes me wanna try and stick around what goes around is gonna come around GUITAR SOLO I saw a dead man floating past with eyes of cloudy broken glass and all the things that caused him pain like always forgetting his kid’s birthday are gone, gone, (I always meant to call you) all that really matters is what is left to pawn (how much for this guitar?) CHORUS did nobody tell you ….did you miss it somehow? it’s not astounding and it’s not profound what goes around is gonna come around there’s nothing left in this dirty old town that makes me wanna try and stick around what goes around is gonna come around
7.
All a Blur 03:59
she was hanging on tight to a microphone in a karaoke bar on the south side of the town I wasn’t in the mood to sing a song though I’d sometimes hum along she was cute and I was happy just to watch her. outside the storm is blowing wild while we were singing “Are you Lonesome Tonight” for a sunday night it was pretty wild most would call in sick in the morning some Spanish girls were on the tiles long hair and flashing eyes and the Irish boys were hovering when you get back to Cadiz you can tell them how it is CHORUS Headlong into the night I know we’re gonna make it Headlong into our lives it’s all there for the taking With wild hearts and diamond souls We’ll keep on going with the flow………till light the taxis cabs are going to have to wait ‘cos we‘re not going home till dawn the rain shines on the street and sprinkles diamonds in her hair she’s the centre of the universe right now we stop for fish & chips and I can taste the salt right on her lips CHORUS Headlong into the night I know we’re gonna make it Headlong into our lives it’s all there for the taking With wild hearts and diamond souls We’ll keep on going with the flow………till light…..till light
8.
They were wandering the roads with nowhere to hide carrying the fire, carrying the fire skin and bones and barely alive, carrying the fire Crushed down driven to hell carrying the fire, carrying the fire By the brute force of Oliver Cromwell carrying the fire, carrying the fire There were lost half a million lives Those that lived made sure the tale survived On hundreds of ships crossing the seven seas To Botany Bay, New York and Mississippi, through the cracks in godless concrete streets life bloomed like some rebel weed Escape from the city to the country On a freight ship he came from the east carrying the fire, carrying the fire In a hotel she cooks and cleans carrying the fire, carrying the fire He said I don’t know a soul in this strange place She said come on upstairs, come on inside We’re gonna keep warm We’re gonna survive Carrying the fire.
9.
Doodlesque 03:35
Don’t ever let them put you down I don’t believe in siver bullets Between the lines Or whispers in the dark You can dodge a poison arrow But don’t look down They wait for you to fall Don’t ever let them put you down
10.
thanks for the photographs they made me laugh and they made me cry remember when the days melted into one you lost your job and got another one nobody was serious for very long that was some holiday four young studs with all the love in the world when they kicked us out and closed up the bars we lay on the beach and just watched the stars you could just about hear a far-off guitar CHORUS the days are long the nights too short can we get together and make it last till it’s gone we wake beneath a lemon sky two of us together like devils in disguise I still remember her skin brown from the sun and it shone in the dark of the room we were in she was from the German city of Cologne we exchanged letters for a month or so then i forgot about her till a moment ago CHORUS do you get to choose your life? you think about it when things don’t turn out right how come the trains never stop around here people smile back but it’s just a veneer it’s only a disguise for a bittter sneer
11.
may the road rise with you may your dreams all come true may you always feel beloved under darkest winter blues raindrops fall down just like tears fom the sky your soaked from your feet to your hair cars speed through pools, splash sorry fools trudging along in despair stones mock your bones the road hurts your feet this place that you curse will outlast you and me remember way back when you stood on the wall you said you could fly now you’re so sure you’ll fall. may you see with x-ray eyes through the ones who tell you lies who point the way to heaven and claim they own the rights evening comes down in this strange foreign town as you walk in your old worn-out shoes stars coming out, to the north and the south like a pretty girl putting on jewels you climb up a hill, looking over this city you’re a stranger round here and there’s no room for pity you wish you had change to make a long distance call you’re afraid to call home in case you break down and bawl may you find the faintest light if good days turn into night may you always believe no matter what fate has up his sleeve

about

Stop the Lights is The Walls third album and was released on March 9th 2012 hitting the Irish Top 20. There’s a real freshness about it and a sense of positivity pervades. If there are any prophetic words to be heard on it then the refrain from “Phantom Power” is worth noting - “we’re not gonna give up, not gonna give out…because this is the start”. The album has been getting rave reviews.

People involved in the making of "Stop the Lights" include Dubliner Rob Kirwan, who recorded PJ Harvey’s recent Mercury Award-winning album "Let England Shake".

What the press are saying about The Walls new album "Stop the Lights":

"The third offering from The Walls is a finely-wrought assortment of slick sonic treats.......on Stop the Lights they push the boundaries of their craft: this is their most adventurous work to date.....Delightful." HOT PRESS MAGAZINE MARCH 8th 2012

"There's no debating their song-craft and you won't find many LP's as expertly put together as Stop the Lights". - Metro Herald

"From beginning to end the album has an energy and optimism that is compulsive – do yourself a favour and grab a copy….." - WeAre Noise.com

"Stop The Lights’ may have been six years in the making but it was well worth the wait. The Wall’s are back with a bang" - Golden Plec.com

"Their capacity to craft catchy melodies certainly remains intact and Stop The Lights is arguably their finest work to date." - Alternative Ulster Magazine

"….a songwriting formula that is certainly concrete-solid…" - The Irish Times

"This album is storytelling at its best" - The Sunday World 1/04/2012

"What impressed me the most is how they managed to make each song sound individual and unique while still retaining that recognisable ‘The Walls’ sound". - FameMagazine.co.uk 2/04/2012

"An ambitious record with countless layers and textures, so lovingly created (the art work is beautiful), that truly reaffirms the belief that great long plays are still being written and produced…sublime." Louder than War May 10th 2012

BIOGRPAHY:

One of Ireland’s most respected and successful acts, The Walls were formed by brothers Steve and Joe Wall. Over the years they have not only supported artists such as U2, Bob Dylan, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Crowded House, but renowned US-tastemaker Nic Harcourt even invited them all the way to L.A. to perform live on his legendary KCRW show “Morning Becomes Eclectic”. Previously the main-men in the multi-platinum selling Irish band The Stunning, the brothers are no strangers to writing hit songs.

The band recently released their third album Stop The Lights on their own imprint Dirtbird Records and, just like their predecessors, it hit the Top 20 in Ireland on the back of three strong singles and regular airplay. Stop The Lights equally tasteful and subtle production reveals new layers of sonic detail with each listen, and the album further demonstrates The Walls’ considerable strengths as writers, arrangers and lyricists. The songs are easily their finest to date, combining flawless, imaginative melodies with beautifully constructed harmonies, and showcase a great band at the peak of their powers.

Over the past few years, The Walls music has featured in numerous movies, TV series and commercials (brands such as Guinness, British Telecom, Aer Lingus, MTV to name a few). "Drowning Pool" from the band's second album is the opening track on the film "Can a Song Save Your Life". Also, the new HTC One Smartphone is pre-loaded with ten songs, one of which is "Stop the Lights" from the current Walls album.

Last March 2013 The Walls made their first trip to Russia where they performed three shows and appeared on the biggest chat show in Russia with an average audience of 40 million viewers.

There have also been extra-curricular activities going on in The Walls camp. Steve has started acting again and has been cast in “Moone Boy”, the new series for Sky TV created by Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids, IT Crowd) and “Dark Touch” a creepy horror by French director Marina de Van (Don’t Look Back; In my Skin) due for release this year. And these days Joe has become involved with BIMM music college in Dublin, bringing his experience to their various workshops on songwriting and music production.

www.thewalls.ie thewallshq@gmail.com

credits

released March 9, 2012

Produced by Steve & Joe Wall. Mixed by Rob Kirwan.

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