John Jones writes:

"I'm right in the middle of interviews at the moment. The critical response is so good, almost overwhelming - my only difficulty is trying to justify making so 'fresh' and 'coherent' an album at this stage of the band's life! As if that needed a reason.... This is a special album for the 5 of us, coming back after The Big Session and other projects to the heart of what we do.

We've always believed that creativity is a collective thing and it was only when we got down to some serious playing in a village hall on the Welsh borders that the song ideas started to come together properly. I think the long preparation enhanced the record enormously, the production, the quality of the ideas, everyone's singing. The raw rush that used to take us out on tour with The Pogues etc has evolved into something more powerful but also lighter on its feet. See some of the reviewers' reactions below...

Scotty [Al Scott] did a particularly fine job on the production this time - you wouldn't believe the patience and vision it takes to achieve this kind of flow and detail in the music - and I'd also like to hear it for Judith Burrows' photographs. She captured our intention superbly in the moody images that grace the album packaging.

Whether you're new to the band or you have followed us for years, start afresh with Meet You There. We've done our bit. Only you can make this album successful now!"

press

Ian Telfer was the subject of the 'Rocket Launcher' feature in the June issue of fROOTS, and John Jones was the subject of 'Grooves' in Songlines. A 3-page article appeared in issue 3 of Rock 'N' Reel, along with a 5* review. Further reviews have appeared in The Guardian, The Independent, The Financial Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Scotsman, Scotland On Sunday, Mojo, Uncut and Songlines; plus many sites online.

Some early reactions:

"...med glädje kan jag konstatera att Oysterband har hittat hem igen med Meet You There. Den bäste skivan på många år, kanske den bästa av dem alla. Riktigt bra och starka sänger. Ett aggressivt sväng på mestadela akustika instrument. Dessutom med både glädje och med glimten i ögat." Mats Palmquist, LIRA, Sweden
[..... it is with great pleasure that I can say Oysterband have found their way home again with Meet You There. The best album for many years, maybe just the best of them all. Really good strong songs, an aggressive groove on mostly acoustic instruments, and all with joy and a twinkle in the eye.]

"...They are no longer angry teenagers but their political passions still burn bright. ... This is a strong album imbued with fine musicianship and some extraordinary harmonising." Bruce Elder, Sydney Morning Herald, Australia

"Envidiable estado de salud el que presentan los ingleses en su [30] aniversario." El Mundo, Spain [What an enviable state of health the Englishmen present on their 30th anniversary...]

"...Then the quality came streaming into focus, Where the World Divides and Here Comes the Flood suddenly asserting themselves as powerhouses packed with interesting, intelligent uses of instruments, from harmonica to the human voice. Brilliant, angry phrases leapt from the lyrics and John Jones's reassuring lead vocals imposed authority on these and other tracks. Normal (that is to say outstanding) Oyster service has been preserved." Colin Randall, The Daily Telegraph, UK

" ...Unusually, though, it's the tinkly sound of a mbira that earcatchingly ushers in the beat then an insistent pumping drone, which together with rippling acoustic guitar underpins the compelling exhortation of the opening anthem Over The Water; it's archetypal Oysters, both revitalised and also subtly ringing the changes. Genuinely thrilling stuff it most certainly is, with an opulent sound quality to match (one that lets the complex textures breathe with exemplary clarity).

...There's an urgency and ballsy energy to this new record, a distinct play-this-loud-or-else demeanour - a quality that's hard-won and intensely fought. For each and every phrase that's sung is shot through with the band's strong collective creativity and the courage of their convictions, and their defiant repetition and riffing are shown to be no mere device but an essential weapon in their powerful musical armoury. The folkier elements that have always marked Oysterband apart (from, say, the Levellers) are cannily gathered in and used as sound-markers in the overall palette to entice and lead the ear in and on through the texture; the happily insistent acoustic guitar work, for instance, serves to keep things vital. There's a polish too, sure, but it's one born of constant hard graft and serious experience, and not a sterile gloss.

...But maybe the album's pièce-de-resistance is the majestic closer, Dancing As Fast As I Can, not the frenetic impression one might gain from the title, instead rather a Shoot Horses Don't They-style weary sweep across the dance floor: a dreamy swaying pulse that's countered by an audible yet almost subliminal marching-band beat and a choral chant-climax. It's an epic nuclear-sunset fade to an epic album...." David Kidman, Netrhythms (the full piece is at <www.netrhythms.co.uk/reviews.html#oyster>)

"...They've got a mischievous spring in their step.... for a band who've been doing this for 30 years - punchy, feisty and rocky, even while a strong acoustic feel runs through many of the tracks. ... They've cast aside the trappings of their reputation as godfathers of folk rock and guardians of a new generation's legacy, to get their hands dirty again as they rediscover the inspiration and energy that made them such a thrilling outfit in the first place. All the classic Oyster ingredients are here: John Jones's imperious singing, thumping beats, irresistible choruses, sharp lyrics, towering guitars, Ian Telfer's soaring fiddle giving it the extra rootsy dimension that always separated them from the likes of The Levellers and New Model Army.

Built on an urgent Prosser guitar rhythm, the impressively raw Here Comes The Flood - driven along by a Dylanesque Chopper harmonica - is characteristic of their new sense of belief and also offers one of the best lyrics they've ever written. There are enticing shades of rockabilly in Someone Somewhere, earthy rock vigour in Everything Must Go (nothing to do with Manic Street Preachers!), The Boy's Still Running is achingly poignant and in Control they've constructed a song tailor-made for Elvis Presley. A couple of tracks sound a tad formulaic (Just One Life, Where The World Divides), but the songwriting is remarkably consistent and the sound quality magnificent.

Those who like their Oysters in more sedate mode won't get on with this at all. There's a dynamic, epic quality to the album - in many ways dictated by the powerhouse drumming of Lee Partis - though it is offset by a willigness to push Alan Prosser's peerless acoustic guitar to the front of the mix whenever they sound in danger of launching themselves over the precipice. They even incorporate a choral arrangement and a marching band as the beautiful Dancing As Fast As I Can slow burns into a crushing climax without quite surrendering to bombastic overkill. "You can trust in the power of music, you can trust in the power of prayer," sings Jones in heartfelt manner, "but it's only the white of your knuckles that's keeping the plane in the air." It may just be their new theme song.” Colin Irwin, fROOTS, UK

"....spänst i fötterna - alltsammans motsatsen till hur man föreställer sig att ett ärrat folkrockband ska låta långt i medelåldern." Dagens Nyheter, Sweden
[...exuding vigour - quite the opposite of what one imagines a scarred folkrockband should sound like in their middle age.]


"Nu kan vi nog börja jämföra de rutinerade engelska folkrockarna Oysterband med vin - det blir bara bättre och bättre med åren." Soundcarrier, Sweden
[Now we can start to compare the veteran folkrockers Oysterband with fine wine - they just get better and better over the years.]

More when we have them...

distribution

AUSTRIA: HOANZL Vertrieb GmbH, Vienna

AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND: The Planet Company ------- www.theplanetcompany.com

BENELUX: Music + Words, Hilversum ------ www.musicwords.nl

CANADA: Festival Distribution Inc, Vancouver ----- www.festival.bc/ca

DENMARK: Bonnier Amigo Music ----- www.bonnieramigo.dk

FINLAND: Bonnier Amigo AB, Stockholm --- / --- Digelius, Helsinki

GERMANY: Indigo, Hamburg ----- www.indigo.de

HUNGARY: István Varga, Debrecen

ITALY: Felmay, San Germano ----- www.felmay.it

JAPAN: Pop Biz, Tokyo

NORWAY: Bonnier Amigo AB, Stockholm, Sweden-----www.bonnieramigo.com

POLAND: export only

RUSSIA: Manas Records, ul. Timirizevskaya 34-1-57, RU-125422 Moscow

SPAIN & PORTUGAL: Resistencia, Madrid ----- www.resistencia.es

SWEDEN: Bonnier Amigo AB, Stockholm -----www.bonnieramigo.com

SWITZERLAND: Rec Rec, Zürich ----- www.recrec.ch

UK & IRELAND: Proper Distribution, London ----- www.properdistribution.com

USA: CD Baby, Portland ----- www.cdbaby.com

USA: CD Roots, New Haven ----- www.cdroots.com

AUSTRALI