Dreamboat veterans Robin Allender and Dave Collingwood have been very busy over the last year. Following on from successes with the much-loved Allender Band, Robin and Dave were asked to join the touring band of renowned composer and musician Yann Tiersen in early 2009. Since then the pair have been touring the world almost non-stop. Although this put the Allender Band on hiatus, the pair decided to work on a studio-based project called Three-Cornered Moon in breaks from touring. Taking the chance to experiment in their home studio, the duo set about constructing a lush, expansive and layered sound that builds upon the delicate, folk-influenced pop of the Allender Band.

We all figured that rather than making you wait, or even pay for the record, it would be better let you have it for free, now. Click here to download Three-Cornered Moon now.

Here’s a quick Dreamboat summer update before we announce an exciting new addition to the Dreamboat Records roster later in August:

Robin Allender is as busy as ever playing guitar for Yann Tiersen on their world tour. The Gala Band have just played Glastonbury and will be playing the show at Colston Hall’s grand re-opening night in Bristol as a two piece Saturday 15th September. And finally, The Rollercoaster Project will release his fantastic new album “Revenge” next month with our friends at Absolutely Kosher Records.

Following on from the success of the In the Grip of Light EP, The Allender Band release their debut album Outer Dark on 16 March, 2009.

Outer Dark continues in a similar vein to In the Grip of Light. The album perfects The Allender Band’s trademark sound of intricate guitar work, spacious arrangements and country-tinged melodic rock.

The deceptively simple, classic sound of ‘Riverrun’ has already enjoyed airplay on Gideon Coe’s BBC 6 Music show, and we’ve made an MP3 of this track available for free download.

The album is available to pre-order from the Dreamboat Records website shop. Orders will ship before the end of February. It will also shortly be available to download from iTunes.

Robin Allender will be performing a solo show at the Electroacoustic Club, London on 10th February with The Gala Band and the Olympic Symphonium.

Robin Allender’s debut release with a full band, In the Grip of Light, will be released by Dreamboat Records on 26th May.

The Allender Band is made up of Alex Wilkins on guitar, Sam Tarbuck on bass and Dave Collingwood on drums.

The E.P. moves away from the acoustic-based folk of Allender’s solo album The Bird and the Word towards a more expansive sound. While still featuring Allender’s hushed vocal delivery and unusual, poetic lyrics, In the Grip of Light also contains elements of rock, gothic country and experimental indie. The EP’s lush, spacious melodicism recalls Red House Painters, while its subtle, dynamic arrangements show the influence of post-rock figureheads Talk Talk and The For Carnation.

The EP costs £4 and is available to buy from the Dreamboat Records website, and will shortly be available to download from iTunes and Bleep.

The band will be performing, and selling copies of the EP, at Bristol’s Folk House on Saturday 24th May.

Lots of gigs coming up, including a mini-tour from the Gala Band, before they head into the studio to begin work on their debut E.P.

Robin Allender

• Friday, 22 February — The John Sebastian (a boat), Bristol
• Sunday, 2 March — Under The Influence at The Thekla, Bristol
• Friday, 4 April — The Cooler, Bristol (with The Hinkley Veltones)

The Gala Band

• Wednesday, 12 March — Louisiana, Bristol
• Thursday, 13 March — Buffalo Bar, Cardiff
• Friday, 14 March — George the 2nd, Luton
• Saturday, 15 March — The Orange Tree, Nottingham
• Sunday, 16 March — The Yardbird, Birmingham (entrance free!)
• Monday, 17 March — Electro Acoustic Club, London