The Prayer Boat

Emmett Tinley serves as lead vocalist and chief songwriter for the Irish ensemble the Prayer Boat, whose confessional and dramatic approach has invited comparisons to Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, Coldplay, and Travis. Although the band formed in County Wicklow, Ireland, in 1987, their first stateside release, Polichinelle, did not appear until 2000; the group had remained active since the late 1980s. Their name derives from a spiritual gathering that annually attracts millions to India’s Ganges River. After signing with RCA in 1989, they issued their debut album, Oceanic Feeling, in 1991; it earned strong critical notice yet achieved only modest sales. The members relocated to Glasgow soon afterward and, in 1994, joined the independent label Almo Sounds, founded by A&M cofounders Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss. Later that year they released the Bury This Thing EP, produced by Dick Meaney of My Bloody Valentine and Beth Orton. Their 1995 single “Dark Green” became a hit, while the 1996 track “Saved” earned them Coca-Cola’s Best Unsigned Irish Band award. Polichinelle reached European listeners in 1998 and arrived in the United States two years later, where it received praise from Billboard and other outlets.