Unreal Unearth

Released August 18, 2023 via Rubyworks and Island, Unreal Unearth uses Dante's descent through the Inferno as a frame for heartbreak, greed and grief, with Jennifer Decilveo and Bekon producing and, for the first time, co-writers in the room. The palette widens to match the scale. "Francesca," named for one of Dante's damned lovers, crests on a full-throated chorus about the grief that follows a love's end. "Eat Your Young" sets a satire on how the comfortable treat the poor to a bouncy, almost jaunty groove, and "Damage Gets Done" steps into bright indie-pop terrain.

The voice is still the engine, that low, choir-trained baritone climbing toward gospel peaks and sinking back into murmured Irish on "De Selby (Part 1)." The descent bottoms out on "Unknown / Nth," betrayal in the ninth circle, and "First Light" closes with the escape, hell behind and the sky in view. It is his most theatrical record and his most generous. Sixteen tracks, No. 1 in Ireland and the UK, No. 3 in the US.

This is the 2x12" black vinyl edition in a gatefold, with lyric-printed inner sleeves and 12" photo inserts, new and sealed.