Hailing from Galway in Ireland, alt-rock quartet NewDad have honed their sound since 2018 and are ready to sweep an unexpecting rock scene off their feet with their debut album ‘Madra’. Translated from Irish into dog, ‘Madra’ is an eleven-song effort coming off the back of a couple of well-received EPs and a stack of singles and, while it’s not the kind of album you’re going to put on to get you in the mood for a wild night on the town, mark my words, ‘Madra’ will be elbowing its way into Top 10 round-up lists come the end of this year.
Hypnotic and utterly enchanting, the sound of ‘Madra’ sees the Irish quartet taking a trip back to their roots. Those roots are deeply buried in bands like Pixies and The Cure while the droning guitars which the band build their sound around right from the get-go, will sound familiar to fans of the grunge/alt-rock scene of bands like L7 and Hole. Maintaining a similar tempo throughout the album tracks like opener “Angel” and “Sickly Sweet” sink their hooks in and refuse to let go.
Now, whereas the music might have a somewhat chilled, easy vibe, the words of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Julie Dawson certainly pack more of a bite as she demonstrates throughout the mesmerising “Where I Go” where her words are delivered with more than a hint of a sneer.
It’s this combination of the hypnotic, laidback vibe of the music with the heartfelt grittiness of Dawson’s lyrics which makes ‘Madra’ such a wonderful album to listen to. The Irish quartet make it all sound so effortless as well as they glide through the jangly “Nosebleed’, the gentle “Dream of Me” and the serene “White Ribbons” before wrapping up with the grittier title track.
Sometimes an album comes along which, without any airs or graces, sweeps you off your feet. If you’re a fan of indie, grunge or alt-rock, this unassuming band have written an album that will do precisely that. Admittedly NewDad weren’t a band on my radar before now but, having been spellbound by this brilliant album, it’s going to take something extra special to get them off my playlist now.
To pick up your copy of the new album or to find out the latest tour dates, head over to the Official NewDad Website.
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