He’s back guys! He’s back! He’s back! Irish, “self-lacerating troubador” Damien Rice has, after an eight-year absence, released his newest album My Favourite Faded Fantasy today in North America.

I’m still on my first run-though, but this album is so classic Damien it’s hard to believe he’s been radio silent for this long. In expected form, the majority of the songs are slow, quiet and introspective– but with 30 seconds to spare he usually builds up to a screeching, voice-cracking desperation. The average length of a track is 6:20 minutes, with the second listing coming in at a whooping 9:33. Again, typical Damien.

When people ask about the best concert I’ve ever been to, Damien Rice is always a front-runner. I saw him with a friend down in Toronto’s Danforth Music Hall when I was 17. His set was just him, his guitar, harmonica, and a looping device. From the moment he started playing he had the whole hall transfixed. At first he refused to speak between songs, but he was slowly drawn out by the fanatic audience who wouldn’t accept his silence. There ended up being a really great camaraderie between Damien and his 1500 Canadian fans in the Hall. He played for the better part of three hours and did two encores– the second of which happened after the house lights had come on. Some had even started filing out of the room while others (who had with views into the wings) screamingly demanded he come back out. Eventually his manager stepped into the lights, widly gestured off-stage and pressured him to continue– “But I don’t have any more songs!”

Now known as just The Music Hall, Damien will be performing there on the 18th (next week!) and if you can, I can’t recommend it enough.

Here’s the first video from the album.

“I Don’t Want to Change You” by Damien Rice

And this one is such a tease. Preview clip for “My Favourite Faded Fantasy”