BRINSLEY
SCHWARZ

Founder of the 70s pub-rock icons (if icons is not too strong a word!) of the same name, and subsequently Graham Parker and The Rumour, Brinsley’s passion for writing and recording reignited in recent years following two albums and tours with that band, as well as duo shows with Parker, resulting in Unexpected.

The gestation period for the songs on Shouting At The Moon goes back even further.

“I wrote ‘The Chance’, ‘Nothing Is What It Seems’ and ‘What In The World’ sometime between the late 1990s and early 2005,” he explains. “‘Hard To Change’ and ‘It’s Been A Long Year’ were written during 2024 and 2025 and recorded during that time. So you can see a big spread in time of writing and recording; some songs were recorded and were intended for my first solo album. But we had a surplus of recorded tracks and so we could pick tracks based on how the songs seemed to gel together as an entity, as an album.”

As with Tangled, Brinsley pays tribute to his friend with a well-chosen cover: “Graham Parker wrote ‘Watch The Moon Come Down’ in the late 1970s. One of my favourite GP songs. I loved rearranging and recording it.”

Key to this revived activity has been producer, engineer and keyboard-player James Hallawell another Parker collaborator, also noted for his work with the likes of The Waterboys and Jackie Leven. “He helped me record my first album Unexpected,” says Brinsley. “We just carried on recording.”

Perhaps his most soulful album yet (the Brinsleys were not shy champions of southern soul) Shouting At The Moon hints at the influence of Steely Dan and Van Morrison, rich in Hammond and Rhodes vibes, while Brinsley’s smoky vocal and distinctive fluid soloing prevail. The groove is the thing. But like Tangled, recorded in the shadow of Covid, the new album is weighted with darker concerns: “‘It’s Been A Long Year’ is about climate change, ‘Nothing Is What It Seems’ is about the trouble ahead, ‘Hard To Change’ is about things not likely to happen any day soon… But we still got music…. Listen on!”

Pre-order: CLICK HERE

‘Nothing Is What It Seems’ is the new single from legendary pub-rock and blues artist
Brinsley Schwarz. The track is the second taken from his new studio album Shouting At The Moon due out on 14th November via Fretsore Records and follows critically acclaimed 2021 release Tangled. The track was preceded by September lead single ‘Falling Over Backwards’.

On the new single, Brinsley states;
“There’s a big storm coming….I SAID…..“big storm coming”….and we ain’t ready, are we? ‘Nothing is what it seems’. Well it isn’t is it? Just saying.”

Out now: ‘Falling Over Backwards’ is the comeback single from legendary blues and pub-rock artist Brinsley Schwarz. The track is the lead from his new studio album Shouting At The Moon due out on 14th November via Fretsore Records and follows critically acclaimed 2021 release Tangled.

Shouting At The Moon represents the third part of a trilogy begun with his debut solo release Unexpected in 2016 followed by Tangled, his first album for Fretsore Records in
2021.

On the new single, Brinsley states;
“Looking for one more track for the album, got into the studio with some lyrics and a bit of a tune in my head, trying not to forget it. Played it to James on acoustic guitar. It was not
going that well until James switched to Hammond organ, and it all just came together. Oh and lovely sax from Simon.”

Pre-order on Bandcamp: CLICK HERE

Brinsley Schwarz returns with a new solo album Tangled. His first album for Fretsore Records, the release follows on from the guitarist, singer and songwriter’s belated debut solo album Unexpected, released in 2016.

His passion for writing and recording reignited following two albums and tours with the reformed Graham Parker & The Rumour and following the success of his solo debut, playing most of the instruments himself, Brinsley worked with former Parker keyboard-player and Waterboys and Jackie Leven producer James Hallawell to deliver nine original songs of the richness and maturity of someone with decades of experience, of stage, studio and, well, life itself.

“Having written some songs but failed to record at home, I concluded that computers and I are not from the same planet,” says Brinsley. “To the rescue, through a chance meeting, came James Hallawell; he helped me record my first album Unexpected. We just carried on recording, this second solo album, Tangled, which includes my version of one of my favourite Graham Parker songs, ‘Love Gets You Twisted’, is the result.”

Released back in January, the first single, the observational ‘Storm In The Hills’, chimed perfectly with the state of the world as we learned to come to terms with a world health crisis and political bewilderment; it’s mirrored in the tender, optimistic ‘Crazy World’, written and recorded during full lockdown. ‘You Can’t Take It Back’, meanwhile, reflects on our own ecological threat to the planet, while the inspiration of ‘Stranded’ is closer to home, showcasing Brinsley’s familiar, exquisite guitar-playing.

Pre-order on Bandcamp: CLICK HERE