The Sentimental Tourists - Without Love We Expire
A few words on the debut album by Dave Long (Into Paradise) and Paul Page (Whipping Boy).
Without Love We Expire (2026).
What a time to be a fan of seminal 90s Irish guitar bands Whipping Boy and Into Paradise. Over on Substack both Paul Page and Jimmy Eadie, respectively the guitarists from both bands, are looking back and gifting us their bands’ histories chapter by chapter.
Between 2021 and 2023 Dave Long, Into Paradise’s main man, and his old friend Shane O’Neill from Blue in Heaven released a trio of great albums (Moll & Zeis, Age of Finding Stars and And You Can’t Dream That).
David Long & Shane O’Neill: Moll & Zeis (2021), Age of Finding Stars (2022) and And You Can’t Dream That (2023).
Alongside writing his former band’s history, earlier this year Paul Page also released an instrumental album called Belgica 1898 under the Polaroid Ghost moniker.
Polaroid Ghost - Belgica 1898 (2026)
The album is an imagined soundtrack to Julian Sancton’s 2021 book Madhouse at the End of the Earth, an account of the Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–1899. Sancton’s tale of the infamous voyage of the RV Belgica, considered the first expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, and the horrors that befell its crew while stuck overwinter in the ice is eerily brought to life by Page with his ambient electronics.
Images from: Madhouse at the End of the Earth by Julian Sancton (WH Allen/Penguin Random House, 2021)
So, Long and Page have been busy keeping their creative juices flowing, yet somehow they’re also found time to collaborate.
The duo has just released Without Love We Expire, their debut album as The Sentimental Tourists, produced by Eadie.
The album was preceded by a series of EPs quietly released throughout 2025. Five of the tracks here have been pulled from two of those EPs alongside half a dozen new songs.
The opening line from ‘Living in Smoke Dreams’, the album’s opening track, gives the album its title. It’s a slow burner, Long’s vocals swathed in Page’s gorgeous noisy guitar. ‘Under the Waves’, with its sing-along chorus comes next, one of several epic moments on the album. In some parallel world ‘Under the Waves’ is a hit single and Long and Page are household names.
Other highlights, ‘Ghosts’ and ‘Happy Beatle’, are balanced by slower numbers ‘Distant Rain’, ‘When the Moment Comes’ and ‘Witches Lane’. Joanne Loughman, formerly the singer of The Glee Club, Setanta label mates of Into Paradise, lends her beautiful voice to backing vocals on penultimate tune ‘Forever’.
The Sentimental Tourists EP (2025), Living in Smoke Dreams EP (2025), Lost Treasures EP (2025) and ‘Shadowplay’ (2026).
The album finishes with a stripped back take on the country classic ‘The Same Way You Came In’.
Long first heard Big Tom’s version of the Max D. Barnes’ tune listening to the Sounds Country show on Radio Kerry and as he sings the refrain, “It makes no difference who you are, skid row Joe or superstar, you’re going out the same way you came in” Page’s guitar and Michael Murphy’s dulcimer provide an apt evocative backdrop.
It seems perfect that the two covers recorded by Long and Page so far are Joy Division’s ‘Shadowplay’ and a country tune made famous in Ireland by Big Tom. Emotional heartfelt lyrics backed by atmospheric guitar soundscapes. Hannett would nod in approval.
A beautiful ending to a great album. They haven’t been away, but it’s lovely having them back. If you’re a fan of Long and Page’s former bands then you’ll know what to expect here, if not then you’re in for a fantastic treat.
PS: The album comes with 4 bonus tracks: a demo, an acoustic version and more. Back in the early 90s it would have been a free 7” with a Setanta release or a free EP in the first week of release with a 4AD record. It feels right.
Further Reading/Listening…
Without Love We Expire is available on Bandcamp:
Polaroid Ghost’s Belgica 1898 is available on Bandcamp:
Album 25 is a collection of 12 tracks from Into Paradise’s four albums, released between 1989 and 1993. It serves as a great primer to the band and is available on Bandcamp:
As mentioned above both Jimmy Eadie and Paul Page are on Substack:
Jimmy Eadie’s Also Ran - The Story of Into Paradise
Paul Page’s When We Were Young...
Paul Page featured on Episode 1 and Dave Long on Episode 5 of To Here Knows When - Great Irish Albums Revisited…
Episode 1
Heartworm
by Whipping Boy
Episode 5
Under the Water
& Churchtown
by Into Paradise
I’ve also written about Whipping Boy and Into Paradise for The Goo…
by Paul McDermott
The Goo - Issue 22 (April 2024)
by Paul McDermott
The Goo - Issue 09 (Feb-Mar 2023)
