Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon has once again stepped beyond the page, joining forces with all-star collective Rogue Oliphant to unveil Visible From Space, a genre-defying album that marries literary sophistication with musical adventure. The announcement arrives alongside the release of the album’s latest single, “Skin in the Game,” now available to stream globally with an official lyric video.
Produced by legendary Tony Visconti, whose credits include David Bowie, T. Rex, and Thin Lizzy, and engineered by four-time GRAMMY® winner Kevin Killen (U2, Peter Gabriel, Elvis Costello), Visible From Space showcases Muldoon’s poetic prowess in a bold musical context. The album features a host of acclaimed collaborators including guitarist and vocalist Chris Harford, Warren Zanes (The Del Fuegos), bassist Cáit O’Riordan (The Pogues), multi-instrumentalist David Mansfield (Bob Dylan, T Bone Burnett), drummer Ray Kubian (Dean Ween Group, Electric Six), and special guest saxophonist Donny McCaslin.
“Skin in the Game is a song about the joys of retirement, not a subject much to the fore in the rock’n’roll canon,” Muldoon explains. “I like to write what might be called rock’n’roll songs for grown-ups.” Harford adds, “When one is given a lyric from Paul Muldoon to put music to, it forces one to wonder, do I in fact, have skin in the game? The challenge is finding the right rhythm, and here a slight shuffle, RnB-style approach felt appropriate.”
The single arrives as Muldoon and Rogue Oliphant gear up for a series of high-profile live appearances, starting tonight with a record launch at New York City’s Joe’s Pub. The band will also perform a private WFUV Marquee show at The Bitter End on Thursday, followed by WXPN’s Free at Noon series in Philadelphia on Friday. Next week, they will be an official showcasing act at AmericanaFest in Nashville on September 11, where Muldoon will participate in a panel discussion titled The Double Helix of Song and Poetry: Two Forms Intertwined alongside Joy Harjo and Rosanne Cash, moderated by Ann Powers.
For Rogue Oliphant members, collaborating with Muldoon is both a challenge and a joy. Bassist Cáit O’Riordan notes, “I’m a huge fan of everything Paul Muldoon does; it’s always a particular pleasure to dive into the delicious wordplay of his song lyrics, and being part of his extraordinary band is one of the highest honours of my life.” Multi-instrumentalist David Mansfield adds, “Whatever genre he asks of me, once exposed to his words, the music tends to leap out almost immediately. He really understands lyric writing – even though poetry and lyrics, in musicians’ lingo, are an odd ‘double.’ What an ongoing pleasure!”
Visible From Space is the fourth full-length release from Rogue Oliphant, following 2022’s Highlights of the Low Life. The album spans a wide sonic terrain, from the surrealistic love song “Rainstorm” to the epic title track, and includes another complex love song, “Hit Machine.” Each track reflects Muldoon’s rich Irish literary heritage while embracing contemporary musical forms, producing a tapestry of sound that is at once cinematic, literate, and viscerally human.
Pre-order or pre-save the album ahead of its official release via Soul Selects Records on September 12. The tracklist promises a journey through Muldoon’s poetic imagination, including:
Visible From Space
Rainstorm
Hit Machine
Skin in the Game
Second Season
The Help Wants To Go Home
Hard To Get
Reading Too Much
Only Thing
Thing for You
After the War
Born in 1951 in Portadown, Northern Ireland, Paul Muldoon has authored fifteen full-length poetry collections, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Moy Sand and Gravel (2002). He has also served as Professor of Poetry at Oxford University, poetry editor at The New Yorker, and currently holds the Howard G.B. Clark ’21 chair in the Humanities at Princeton University. His work has been translated into twenty languages, and he has received accolades including the T. S. Eliot Prize, the Shakespeare Prize, the Pigott Poetry Prize, and the 2024 Premio di Poesia Sinestetica.
With Visible From Space, Muldoon proves that his mastery of language translates effortlessly into music. The album’s blend of literary sophistication, inventive musicality, and all-star collaboration promises a release that will resonate with fans of poetry, rock, and anyone who appreciates the power of words brought vividly to life.
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