Cypress, Mine! are a band from Cork and have just released their third single, Hellava Man from their long-awaited new albumpulling all the clouds apart. The previous two singles Spellbinding and Safe Highway heralded the return of the band after a 38-year gap in recording music and they gained a lot of attention and airplay.
The new album was released on February 13 and touches on the themes of physical & mental pain and societal issues such as coercive control, intimidation and violence.
The new album, pulling all the clouds apart was the last album to be recorded in Pat Colliers’ Perry Vale Studios in London. The album was mixed by Pat’s longtime collaborator Jessica Corcoran (Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, Senseless Things, Power Of Dreams, Shed Seven, Boy George, That Petrol Emotion, Maximo Park, Robyn Hitchcock, All About Eve, Mega City 4 and many more). The album is in all good record shops now. It is also be available on Bandcamp, Spotify, and other digital platforms.
The band’s 1987’s debut album Exit Trashtown received critical acclaim, producing national radio favourites Justine and Sugar Beet God. Exit Trashtown was the first indie album recorded in Cork (in Elmtree Studios in 1987).
Cypress, Mine! formed in 1984 with Ian Olney (guitar), Ciarán Ó Tuama (vocals), Mark Healy (drums) and Denis O’Mullane (bass). The current iteration of Cypress, Mine! features Mark Healy on bass while Morty McCarthy of The Sultans of Ping takes over drumming duties.
Influenced in the early days by Orange Juice, The Smiths, REM, and Hüsker Dü they performed alongside U2, Echo and the Bunnymen, and Aztec Camera before disbanding in 1989. After the breakup, Ian Olney went on to join Dublin rock band Power of Dreams. A subsequent successful re-issue in 2017 of Exit Trashtown on Spanish label Pretty Olivia Records re-ignited an interest in Cypress, Mine!.