catholic is the fourth solo album from Gavin Friday

Gavin Friday

Gavin Friday is an Irish singer and songwriter, composer, actor and painter.-Career:Gavin was born in Dublin and grew up in Finglas, a neighbourhood located on Dublin's Northside...

, written and recorded with musician Herbie Macken. It was released in Ireland on Good Friday

Good Friday

Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...

 (April 22), 16 years after the release of his previous album, Shag Tobacco

Shag Tobacco

Shag Tobacco is the third solo album from Gavin Friday. Once again, Friday teamed up with musician Maurice "The Man" Seezer. Bono and The Edge contribute backing vocals on "Little Black Dress."This album features a cover of T.Rex's "The Slider"....

. catholic deals with concepts of letting go and coming to terms with loss. It was produced by Ken Thomas (Throbbing Gristle

Throbbing Gristle

Throbbing Gristle were an English industrial, avant-garde music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions...

, Cocteau Twins

Cocteau Twins

Cocteau Twins were a Scottish alternative rock band active from 1979 to 1997, known for innovative instrumentation and atmospheric, non-lyrical vocals...

, Sigur Ros

Sigur Rós

Sigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock band with classicaland minimalist elements. The band is known for its ethereal sound, and frontman Jónsi Birgisson's falsetto vocals and use of bowed guitar. In January 2010, the band announced that they will be on hiatus. Since then, it has since been announced...

) and recorded in Dublin, Cork and West Yorkshire. Patrick McCabe wrote the novella Requiem for the Dying for the album liner notes. The video for "Able" was directed by Kevin Godley

Kevin Godley

Kevin Godley is a British musician and music video director.He was born in a family of Jewish descent, and went to North Cestrian Grammar School in Altrincham....

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Track listing

1. "Able" - 4:47
2. "Land on the Moon" - 5:07
3. "A Song that Hurts" - 5:33
4. "The Only One" - 4:16
5. "Blame" - 4:54
6. "The Sun and the Moon and the Stars" - 4:17
7. "It's All Ahead of You" - 4:34
8. "Perfume" - 3:34
9. "Epilogue" - 3:09
10. "Where'd Ya Go? Gone" - 4:41
11. "Lord I'm Comin'" - 6:52

Personnel

• Gavin Friday - vocals, backing vocals
• Herbie Macken - keyboards, piano, guitars, backing vocals, piano, programming
• Kate Ellis - cello
• Andre Antunes - drums, percussion
• Gareth Hughes - bass guitars
• Anthony Drennan - electric guitar
• Jolyon Vaughan Thomas - programming, electric guitars, bass, keyboards
• Moya Brennan
  Moya Brennan
  Moya Brennan, born Máire Ní Bhraonáin , also known as Máire Brennan , is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist who began performing professionally in 1970, when her family formed the band Clannad, and is now widely considered as the "First Lady of Celtic Music"...
  
   - backing vocals
• Amy Odell - vocals, backing vocals
• John Kelly - harmonica

Album title

The album's title is deliberately spelled with a lower case c to emphasize the word's original meaning: universal, for every man, with wide sympathies. Friday stated he wanted to claim back the word from the Roman Catholic church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

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Album cover

The album's cover photo is based on and pays homage to the painting Michael Collins, Love of Ireland by Sir John Lavery

John Lavery

Sir John Lavery was an Irish painter best known for his portraits.Belfast-born John Lavery attended the Haldane Academy, in Glasgow, in the 1870s and the Académie Julian in Paris in the early 1880s. He returned to Glasgow and was associated with the Glasgow School...

 which depicts Irish revolutionary leader Michael Collins

Michael Collins (Irish leader)

Michael "Mick" Collins was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance and Teachta Dála for Cork South in the First Dáil of 1919, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations. Subsequently, he was both Chairman of the...

 lying in state. Friday had seen the painting at the Sir John Lavery “Passion and Politics” exhibit in Dublin at the Hugh Lane Gallery in September 2010. The photo was taken by Perry Ogden. Although the image sets up parallels between the turmoil of the birth years of the Ireland and the mid-2000s state of upheaval and political chaos, Friday has stated that this is “an emotional, not a political, album”.