WATCH: Cherym – ‘We’re Just Friends’

Following their luscious and totally infectious last single ‘Listening To My Head’, and receiving acclaim from the likes of John Kennedy and Frank Turner, Derry trio Cherym have now announced their upcoming new EP, Hey Tori, set for release in September. And, ahead of the EP’s release, they have now shared a vibrant new video.

Propelled by buoyant beats and jangling hooks, ‘We’re Just Friends‘ is a heartfelt reflection on life and love, particularly from the perspective of non-heteronormative couples. Oozing a swirling, danceable energy and all the honey-sweet punk-pop vibes you could ever desire, it’s a wonderfully fuzzy burst of bubbling, sugar-coated nostalgia. Another instantly catchy, and utterly uplifting, offering that harks back to my favourites of the early noughties in all the best ways.

Of the track, drummer Alannagh Doherty explains:

“This is a song we wrote after spending some time thinking about life and some of the positive aspects of it, like relationships we’ve had that we can look back on, or the relationships that have yet to come. It’s a cheesy tune about being in a very wholesome relationship with your soul mate… There is a wee bit of irony in the title because in most wlw (woman-loving-woman) relationships—or any non-heteronormative relationships—people will always presume you’re ‘just friends’ so that’s where the idea came from.”

Watch the super cute animated video for ‘We’re Just Friends’ now:


Hey Tori, the upcoming EP from Cherym, is set for release on 30th September via Alcopop! Records. Pre-order here. Catch them live on their UK tour in October – more info here.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

Photo Credit: Y-Control Photography

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Track Of The Day: Vulpynes – ‘Control Is Not What I Need’

Following last year’s acclaimed EP Us Against Them and having shared stages with the likes of Sleaford Mods and Deap Vally, GIHE faves Vulpynes have now shared a raging new single.

With ‘Control Is Not What I Need’, the Dublin duo ooze a frenzied angst-driven power as the gritty passion of Molly’s seething vocals rages alongside Kaz’s immense, thrashing beats. A reflection on addressing anxieties and letting yourself absorb your emotions, it offers an empowering energy as swirling hooks race with a frenzied sense of urgency. A riotous, grunge-fuelled anthem with shades of the fierce intensity of the likes of Distillers and L7, it perfectly showcases the duo’s unforgiving, fiery spirit and ability to create scuzzily smouldering blasts of punk-rock magnificence.

Watch the new video for ‘Control Is Not What I Need’ here:

Vulpynes will be playing live in Dublin at The Button Factory on 5th September. A limited number of remaining tickets are available here.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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Track Of The Day: Pretty Happy – ‘Sudocrem’

A frantic, witty, cathartic burst of art punk noise, Cork trio Pretty Happy have shared their latest single ‘Sudocrem’. Taken from their recent EP Sluggers Bridge, released via Art For Blind Records, the track ricochets between manic vocals, spoken word verses and whirlwind guitar cacophonies to reflect the irritation of the characters the song is based around.

Formed of Abbey Blake (guitar), Arann Blake (vocals, bass) and Andy Killian (drums), Pretty Happy have been busy cutting their teeth on the DIY Irish music and arts scene over the last few years. Abbey is a founder of Angry Mom Collective, a movement set up to challenge the gender imbalance in Irish arts, whilst Arann and Andy are keenly involved in the local drama and film scenes. Together, the trio combine their talents to create their distinctive sounds and ‘Sudocrem’ is another of their riotous, tongue-in-cheek offerings.

Centered around the Cork-centric story of a girl who is suffering from alcohol poisoning in the Mercy Hospital whilst her partner sits across the road in the Franciscan Well pub, ‘Sudocrem’ kicks and screams with the kind of frustration, panic and anxiety that can’t be soothed by the childhood medicinal staple it’s named after. Speaking about their new EP which the track is lifted from, the band explain: “With Sluggers Bridge we have attempted to capture our live theatre-influenced, art-punk sound. We wanted to make this EP as interdisciplinary as possible, taking as much inspiration from the Irish stage as we do the Irish music scene. This EP is uniquely Cork, influenced greatly by the people and humour of the city.”

Listen to ‘Sudocrem’ below.

Follow Pretty Happy on bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram, Twitter & Facebook

Photo Credit: Nicholas O’Donnell

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: Soda Blonde – ‘Holy Roses’

Honest, conflicted and entirely recognisable to anyone who has lived through their twenties and paused for a moment of introspection, the latest single ‘Holy Roses’ from rousing Dublin four-piece, Soda Blonde, is the third of its kind to blaze the trail ahead of the band’s hotly anticipated debut album Small Talk. All four of Soda Blonde’s band members hail from the critically acclaimed BBC Sound Of nominees, Little Green Cars, whose debut album Absolute Zero hit the number one spot in Ireland in 2013.

Soda Blonde have thrived in crafting their novel dreamy alt-pop sound during Lockdown through a shared need to make music whilst making peace with their younger selves, amid refreshingly honest transparency. Front-woman, songwriter and mesmerising vocalist Fay O’Rourke has said that the alchemy of the project lies in the “meticulousness and devotion to every detail” prevalent in the writing process from the moment O’Rourke sends the initial sample across to guitarist Adam O’Regan, to the moment the band, who are self-producing every detail, sign off on their own artwork.

It’s this new and authentic process of creating – adding and passing on to the next band member – that has resulted in the solely self-produced single ‘Holy Roses’ which deconstructs the intricacies of religion, science, fate and choice through the band members’ twenty-something lived experiences. The track started in the hands of O’Rourke who, “with feminism on one shoulder and trans-generational catholic guilt on the other”, has admitted to finding the process of de-programming herself as an Irish woman extremely hard. By directly addressing those who “bypassed” her and stood in her way, O’Rourke reflects on this single as one of the most important on the album, closing the door on past experiences of oppression in a moment of reckoning and letting go.

The simple melancholy and raw riffs provided by O’Regan at the start of this track lay down the foundations of a progressive and poignant pop song, with both delicate and masterful melodies to soundtrack your summer nostalgia. So, it’s only fair that the introduction of Donagh Seaver-O’Leary’s understated yet vivacious bass-line takes you on a leap down memory lane as it underlines O’Rourke’s inner-most contradictory conscience. The partnership of synthetic delay and reverb, catchy and warm backing vocals in the pre-chorus, alongside the introduction of an obscure off-beat percussion section from drummer Dylan Lynch, all flow meticulously into one another to personify the shadow of painful past experiences in this perfect pop sensation.

‘Holy Roses’ is all about confronting contradictions, so it is no surprise that the chorus steals the ground from beneath our feet with its luminous and epically uplifting appeal. We are transported into our inner-most selves by O’Rourke’s ethereal and dominating vocal, hitting notes that I haven’t heard in this alt-pop setting since those heard on Rae Morris’ 2015 release Unguarded.

Small Talk is set for release on 9th July via Velveteen Records, ahead of the band’s summer tour featuring a date supporting Sinead O’Connor at Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens – not bad for a band new to the scene. This may be the first you’ve heard of them, but it won’t be the last…

Lauren Roberts
@robauren

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