Mark Prendergast’s new project Man Alive is a leftfield step away from his international chart-conquering success with Kodaline, as evidenced by his debut track ‘Be Someone’ which earned attention from the likes of NME, Clash and Hot Press as well as a broad sweep of Irish airplay and nine global Spotify New Music Friday playlists.
Now it’s time to dive deeper into Man Alive’s whirlpool of emotion with the news that the project’s debut EP ‘Colours’ will be released on 15th September and is now available to pre-save HERE. The EP is announced alongside the release of its title track and new single. Listen HERE. Watch the official video HERE.
Mark says, “I was just like a kid in a candy shop when making this EP. When you’re in a band and you get it right, there’s a confidence that comes from a gang mentality, and that’s great, but this was the total opposite. Just the idea of going solo was a thrill, but the songs always came first and drove everything. Like everybody else in this world, you go through moments where you’re fucking great and you go through moments where you’re not. I suppose each song is just about a different kind of emotion, and that discovery of figuring out who you are and all that kind of craic.”
The new single ‘Colours’ is a blissed-out Tame Impala-esque waltz which sets sun-kissed psychedelia through the glittery prism of a disco ball, all with an undercurrent of sophisticated and orchestrated pop which sets the perfect ambience for lyrics which celebrate the purity of being in love.
It offers a very different approach from the spacious beauty of its lovelorn alt-folk predecessor ‘Be Someone’, and that contrast hints at the vast array of sonic touchpoints that Mark is drawing upon for Man Alive. The postcard intimacy of ‘Five Minute Drive’ offers “a place to park your broken heart” while another new song, ‘Everytime I See Red’, possesses a similar warmth, all richly textured vocal harmonies and dreamy acoustic pop. The EP’s closing track ‘What Are The Chances’ finds the sweet spot between its anthemic, stadium-sized scope and a very personal touch, complete with the darker heart of lyrics such as, “I know I burned your neighbourhood to the ground.”
While Mark Prendergast has always written songs for Kodaline, he has also composed and demoed other songs simply for his own pleasure. But then the one-two combo of a break-up and lockdown hit, and suddenly he was in the midst of a purple patch of inspiration. He had never even casually entertained the thought of becoming a singer, but the catalogue of songs he had written was just too personal to hand over to someone else.
To date, Man Alive have played just two shows: a raucous house party in which Mark’s band included Gavin James and members of Soft Launch, while his friend Aisling Bea guested as MC, and Tuesday’s sold-out debut headline show at The Waiting Room in London.
