
David Keenan – Altar Wine.
Dundalk native David Keenan is undoubtedly one of my favourite Irish artists in recent times. His pure & strong County Louth accent is a thing of beauty and this ruggedness sets him apart from other songwriters as a result. This week he has released a polished rework of the delicately pensive single Altar wine and we absolutely love it.
I remember back in March we had the pleasure of seeing Keenan perform over here in London @ The Islington. It was a tiny room behind a curtain, the London Shhh-rs were out in full flow and I was totally out of my head on altar wine myself. Keenan is a performer who is rarely forgotten after you catch him play. He has a wicked sense of humor, an intelligently creative vocabulary and the stage presence of a seasoned veteran. That night is blurry as I made a bit of a eejet of myself. One thing I will always remember from that night is that David Keenan is the real deal. He is a wordsmith and to this day I have never heard anyone mutter a lyric as brilliant as ”She has a face like a painters radio”, to a mundane & reserved London crowd. Genius.
Altar Wine
Altar Wine is by far my favourite track from Keenan thus far and I excitedly clicked on the new version earlier today. This rework is a lot faster than the original recording – the shift in tempo perhaps suits the manic subject matter better. It culminates in Keenan shrieking loudly in despair at the very end amidst a crescendo of noise. This man has mastered the persona of a wild poet and his music lays his inner mystery out for all to enjoy.
Check out the reworking of David Keenan – Altar Wine below. Top drawer as always sir.
hi!
Tx for writing this. Can you please tell me: where can this “original recording of Alter Wine” you’re talking about here, be found…? Or are you talking about this “Acousic live Olympia” version which is released on the RSD “Alchemy & Prose” album? Thank for the advise…
Hi Herman, glad you enjoyed the song – the original version I was referring to was the stripped back piano version from 2018 – you can find it here https://youtu.be/vT80sioBjHY – I personally prefer the piano version as it’s raw and showcases Keenan’s vocal ability more than the album version 🙂