NEWDAD ANNOUNCE THEIR DEBUT ALBUM ‘MADRA’ OUT JANUARY 26th VIA FAIR YOUTH/ATLANTIC

Photo: Zyanya Lorenzo

Irish alt/rock collective NewDad announce details of their debut album, Madra, set for release on January 26, 2024, through Fair Youth/Atlantic. The album news comes with the release of ‘Angel’ – the band’s grunge-fuelled album opener. Awash with spiralling guitars and a hypnotic bassline, singer/guitarist Julie Dawson finds inspiration in TV show Euphoria, as she ruminates on the destructive relationship of characters, Rue and Jules: a storyline that she herself gravitated towards.

Madra (meaning “dog” in Irish) is an 11-song, guitar-stacked visceral outing, as singer/guitarist Julie Dawson embarks on a journey of self-exploration, self-sabotage, and reflection. Soaked in dysfunction, Madra searches for solace in pain, tackling themes of bullying (‘Where I Go’), self-medication/depression (‘Madra’, ‘Let Go’), destruction (‘Change My Mind’, ‘White Ribbons’), co-dependency (‘Nosebleed’) and resistance (‘Nightmares’). The album artwork, photographed by Irish creative, Joshua Gordon, shows a broken doll that serves as a metaphor for the album’s themes of fragility and vulnerability.
 
The album finds NewDad reconnect with their musical roots, digging deep into the shoegaze/rock sonics that soundtracked their formative years (the band cite Pixies, The Cure and Slowdive as some of their biggest early influences), together with glimmers of indie/pop that harks back to their earlier material: ‘Waves EP’ (2021) and ‘Banshee EP’ (2022). Written in their home city of Galway, Ireland, before the band moved to London this year, and recorded at the legendry Rockfield Studios (Black Sabbath, Queen), the album has been produced by NewDad’s long-time collaborator Chris Ryan (Just Mustard) and mixed by Alan Moulder (The Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, Wet Leg). Bound together by Julie’s ghostly vocal - a vessel for her weighty, introspective songwriting – Madra firmly marks NewDad as one of Ireland’s most promising debut guitar bands.
 
Speaking of the band’s debut, Julie says – “Madra meaning dog in Irish explores various difficult parts of the human condition and the idea of the title is that these feelings that come up are sometimes ones you can’t escape, feelings that follow you around like a dog. We had an amazing team around us who helped bring these songs to life and we’re so excited for this album to be out in the world. We hope that people connect with the songs and that Madra can be a comfort to everyone who listens.”
 
NewDad recently played a sold-out show at London’s The Lower Third on Sep 11. They will tour the UK and Ireland in February/March 2024.
 
Madra track listing
 
Angel
Sickly Sweet
Where I Go
Change My Mind
In My Head
Nosebleed
Let Go
Dream Of Me
Nightmares
White Ribbons
Madra
 
 UK & Ireland Tour
 
DECEMBER 2023
1 - Galway - Roisin Dubh
 
FEBRUARY 2024
24 - Leeds - Belgrave Music Hall
25 - Manchester - Band on The Wall
26 - Glasgow - St Luke’s
28 - Dublin ­- Button Factory
 
MARCH 2024
2 - Birmingham - O2 Institute
3 - Bristol - Trinity
5 - London - Koko

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