Growing up in Galway, Ireland the four members of NewDad thank a random band name generator for their unusual moniker.
Dark and stormy with undeniably beautiful moments amid the mammoth guitars, their debut EP Waves (out on Fair Youth Records) acted as a perfect introduction to the world of NewDad. There’s a heaviness to the music, which the band pin to a love of The Cure, Pixies, and Slowdive among others. But it’s not just in the feedback that NewDad find their truth, Julie’s songwriting brings a subtlety to their sound, weaving personal relationships and influences from the worlds of literature and cinema.
The new music is brighter, something Julie pins on the excitement of moving in together. “There’s a lightness to the songs and we’re moving in a more pop direction, too.” One song, Ladybird, was inspired by the Greta Gerwig movie of the same name while the bittersweet jangle of Say It deals with the heartache of being more interested in someone than they are in you. Other songs, including the epic and sprawling Spring, are more inward looking and tackle the waves of anxiety living in the modern world can make feel inescapable. “I’ve written a lot of songs about dreams, sleep and restlessness. This past year added a whole heap of pressure onto us so I’ve been doing a lot of talking through what’s going on in my mind.”
