A mane of curly locks, a hilarious sense of humour, a lilting Irish brogue, Shiny Joe Ryan is a bit of an enigma.

His musical offerings are as unique as he is – a mix of genres encompassing country, pop and rock, all mangled and mashed into something new, strange and tender. The result, after incubating inside the eccentric mass of hair and ideas that is the noggin of Joe, is The Cosmic Microwave Background.

Sometime during/between Mink Mussel Creek and Pond, Joe wrote and recorded his 10 track debut album alone in his grotty Berlin apartment. Later, he enlisted the help of some friends to fill it out a little, joined by Steve Summerlin, Ben McDonald, Nick Allbrook and Felicity Groom, who lends her vocals to the opening track ‘Always Wanting More’.

Mixed by Joe and mastered by Kevin Parker, The Cosmic Microwave Background is a heart-rending journey of interstellar innocence, staggering like a ketamine invalid and sailing like a rocket.

Download new single ‘What Ever Happened To The Space Race?’

Joe says “I wrote and recorded 'What Ever Happened To The Space Race?' in Berlin It features Nick Allbrook on drums and Ben McDonald on bass. It's a song about how society seems to have forgotten or lost interest in space and space exploration. How can we take our eyes off the inconceivable wonders of the universe? When will we reach and colonise Mars? Why haven't we been back to the moon? This is what I'm on about in this song. Enjoy space”.

Shiny Joe Ryan's album The Cosmic Microwave Background will be released in 2 formats: as a digital download at the iTunes store from Friday May 30th and vinyl pre-order available in June - stay tuned for further details.