After a full year stuck in manufacturing limbo (caused by a perfect storm of a global vinyl shortage, Brexit, Covid and the war in Ukraine affecting the Polish pressing plant which was already labouring from over demand/under capacity) – Dean Owens is delighted to finally have confirmed supplies and a 29th July release date for the vinyl of his very highly praised Sinner’s Shrine album.
Recorded in Tucson AZ with members of desert noir/Latin rock icons Calexico, the album has already received glowing international reviews from leading publications including in France, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, USA and UK.
The 11 track album (specially mastered for vinyl) is manufactured on “Tucson blue” turquoise vinyl, with a gatefold sleeve, showcasing the stunning bespoke artwork by Luisa Carmela Casasanta and design by James Morrison.
The music is a rich fusion of Dean’s Scottish roots and the lush, swirling desert sounds of Calexico, with each song creating its own world – stories of sinners and saints, love and lust, the displaced, the wanderers and the border ghosts. It has been described by many listeners and reviewers as a “perfect collaboration” and “a marriage made in heaven” which has produced something unique – a wonderful melange of sweeping mariachi Latin rock and sounds from Scotland’s post industrial heartlands.
The songs on Sinner’s Shrine are the sound of one of Scotland’s leading songwriters pushing his own boundaries, the lyrics sometimes impressionistic, but with universal stories, emotions, and a hooky chorus, at their heart. There is darkness and light, from the plight of refugees in The Barbed Wire’s Still Weeping and La Lomita to tender love songs like Summer in Your Eyes and the touching melancholy of Compañera; the full throttle panavision sweep of New Mexico and sensual Cumbia sway of Land of the Hummingbird.
To mark the occasion of the vinyl release, he is releasing a new video/single, Arizona, the opening track on the album. The video (created by regular collaborator Ruth Barrie (Waltzer Films)) is a road trip through Dean’s favourite US state, with wide, sweeping birds’ eye views of some of its most memorable landmarks, including the Painted Desert, Horseshoe Bend and Monument Valley, with giant Saguaro cacti and prickly pears punctuating the desert landscape, and intimate shots of the Sinner’s Shrine in downtown Tucson.
Sinner’s Shrine is a joint release on London’s Eel Pie Records / Continental Record Services (Netherlands).
2022 Tour Dates
30th Jul
Scotland Sings Nanci (Southern Fried Festival) – Perth Concert Hall
11th Aug
Fringe By The Sea, North Berwick – Dean Owens & The Sinners
12th, 13th Aug
EICC (Edinburgh Fringe) – solo
18th Aug
EICC (Edinburgh Fringe) – Dean Owens & The Sinners
20th Aug
Heart of Hawick, Hawick – solo
9th Sep
The Boarding House, Howwood – with Kirsten Adamson
29th Sep
Findhorn Bay Festival – Dean Owens & The Sinners
21st Oct
Qbus, Leiden – Dean Owens & The Sinners
22nd Oct
Ramblin Roots Festival, Utrecht – Dean Owens & The Sinners
23rd Oct
Cobblestone Club, Oldenzaal – Dean Owens & The Sinners
4th Nov
The Blue Lamp, Aberdeen – Dean Owens & The Sinners
5th Nov
Roslin Bowling Club – Dean Owens & The Sinners
11th Nov
Tannahill Centre – Dean Owens & The Sinners
12th Nov
Crail Community Hall – Dean Owens & The Sinners
26th Nov
Maryhill Centre – Dean Owens & The Sinners