Grapes & Ghosts by Vinnie's TV

The first full length album from Vinnie’s TV ’Grapes and Ghosts’ is the sound of someone stripping away the polish of a Nashville style country sound, and finding a richer, more diverse heart. It serves up the melting pot of influences that London based songwriter Wade Lynch has come across over the years. These influences include cellos that echo Nick Drake, fluid Grateful Dead style electric guitar, wheezing accordions that are reminiscent of The Band and snatches of Irish Trad in the shape of banjo’s, bodhrans, flutes and fiddles. These are woven into classic arrangements that tell stories of love, loss, displacement and heartache. It is a dense multifaceted album that showcases a songwriter really hitting his stride.

The opening track, Memory Lapse draws the listener in to a world sketched in half forgotten memories. Grapes Die On The Vine is the sound of a relationship being tested to the limit and somehow surviving. The sound of a vinyl LP at the start of Over Time draws us back to the previous Great Depression reminding us of the human cost of financial collapse. This is explored further on Dead Man’s Shoes and Vanishing Man. The depression era theme that Wade Lynch mines for inspiration is nodded to with the Hedy West classic 500 Miles. It features a beautiful duet between Wade Lynch and his daughter, further underscoring the lyrical theme and reinforcing the idea of family and a sense of place.

Hole In My Boat is the sound of Vinnie's TV having fun, though the lyrics might suggest otherwise. It’s drenched in 50's style echo, and features blazing rockabilly guitar solos, yet at the last minute, it turns on a dime and morphs into a wild Irish Traditional session.
From there the album swoons through the waltz of These Walls, a glorious, The Band style ballad of love and longing. Evangeline and Nothing Special delve deeper down this road as Lynch explores the romantic themes nodded to elsewhere.

Featuring a large cast of musicians from Ireland and France, half of Grapes and Ghosts was recorded in Cork at Blackwater Studios and the rest in Paris, which is second home to Vinnie's TV. Videos were shot for two tracks by LA based filmmaker Jeff Freeman, again in both Paris and Cork. The album was mixed and produced by Wade Lynch, Vinnie's TV guitarist Jacques Belghit and Duncan Ó Cleirigh from Blackwater Studios - County Cork, Ireland

Vinnie's TV isn't the type of band that can be easily categorized. Drawing from different backgrounds, their sound can equally pull from rock, irish trad, country, or soul. In the end, what you experience is a unique and sincere sound.

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