Brendan Perry - Eye of the Hunter / Live at the I.C.A. (2023) [Hi-Res]

Brendan Perry reissues his 1999 album, Eye of the Hunter, expanded for its first ever repress to now include a bonus live album Live at the I.C.A., recorded during 4AD’s infamous 13 Year Itch residency at the storied London venue in 1993.

Some fifteen years after Dead Can Dance’s self-titled debut, Brendan Perry first stepped out on his own in 1999 with the wondrous eight track album, Eye of the Hunter.

Having mutually disbanded Dead Can Dance so he and Lisa Gerrard could focus on their own material (a hiatus that would last seven years between playing live shows and sixteen between making albums), Brendan’s debut built on his renown as a solo performer, having often played just he and an acoustic guitar during his band’s otherworldly live shows. Indeed, Dead Can Dance’s first official live album, 1994’s Toward The Within, captures just this with three Brendan solo tracks helping to set the scene for what came next.

Recorded at Brendan's Quivvy Church studio in County Cavan in Ireland and backed by the band of Liam Bradley (drums), Glen Garrett (bass guitar) and Martin Quinn (pedal steel), Brendan performs the guitar, a 12-string guitar, mandolin and keys to achieve a rich, gothic sound while the album’s incredible production elevates his vocals to Scott Walker and Tim Buckley levels of delivery; two clear influences, the latter’s ‘I Must Have Been Blind Here’ is thoughtfully covered here.

A record that has been out of print on vinyl since its release in 1999, people have been asking for it to be repressed for long enough. Having been mastered at Abbey Road, fans will be delighted to hear that not only is Eye of the Hunter finally being reissued but that it’s also been expanded to include Live at the I.C.A. The single ‘Happy Time (Live at the I.C.A.)’, a Tim Buckley cover, is released today from the latter. A true collectible, this extra album has previously only been available on a rare as hen’s teeth promotional cassette, recorded during 4AD’s infamous 13 Year Itch residency at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts in 1993. Chris Bigg’s fantastic art remains front and centre, upgraded to a gatefold sleeve for the LP with the coloured vinyl matching the album’s palette (Eye of the Hunter on transparent teal and Live at the I.C.A. on seafoam green). The reissue will also be available on CD.