Leaving their hometown of Galway to realise their ambitions (and make their debut album) in London, NewDad are primed to become one of the best new dream-rock bands around. Now: someone please give them some even bigger stages to conquer…
“I’m all about the shoegaze revival,” declares the calming yet confident voice of NewDad frontwoman Julie Dawson, speaking to Kerrang! via Zoom from a Brixton rehearsal space. In the four years since their debut single How, the Irish band – who are now based in London – have established themselves at the forefront of a new generation of atmospheric dream-rock, alongside acts like Softcult, Fleshwater and Momma. Julie’s personal favourites are Just Mustard and her namesake, julie.
After a steady ascent from their school days that’s seen them sign to Atlantic Records (Paramore) and support indie-rock titans Fontaines D.C. and Paolo Nutini, their debut album Madra has the potential to change the game for the quartet (who are completed by bassist Cara Joshi, guitarist Sean O’Dowd and drummer Fiachra Parslow). The driving rhythms of Sickly Sweet and haunting layers of In My Head evoke immediate signs of The Cure and My Bloody Valentine, as Julie’s ethereal vocals blur between the lines.
With February’s headline tour including a mighty show at north London’s iconic KOKO, it’s surely a matter of time before the major alternative festivals start calling. If Turnover can play the main stage at Outbreak, why can’t NewDad?
“That would be a buzz,” Julie agrees. “I really like the big stages. There’s something more nerve-racking about being in a tiny venue.” Indeed, Madra – which translates as the Irish word for ‘dog’ – is full of arena-ready tracks, amplified by production from Chris Ryan and Alan Moulder (The Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails). “When Alan brought [the mixes] back, our minds were blown. He brought the album up another 30 per cent, he’s a genius. I didn’t feel like I was listening to us – it was an out-of-body experience.”
Recorded at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Julie describes how songs initially written in Galway took on a new life after the change in environment. “We were kind of stuck in a rut back in Galway… Rockfield really inspired the heaviness of the record. We never anticipated making a rock record, but it makes total sense, because that was the music we loved.”
Arguably the most infectious riff on Madra is the rattling bassline of album opener Angel, which has perhaps already surpassed the 2021 single I Don’t Recognise You as the quintessential NewDad track. “We were always very bass-driven. Bands like the Pixies, we wanted to sound like them. Every 16-year-old hears the Doolittle album and wants to be in a rock band!” Julie also cites Weezer’s classic Blue Album as a reference point for the lethargic, mushy rock that Madra sometimes ventures towards.
Having permanently swapped Galway for London alongside plenty of friends and family in 2022, NewDad are here to stay – at least, for now. “There’s a big house in Shepherd’s Bush that’s just full of Galway-heads, and my brother is in Tooting. If we do well, we’ll probably relocate… we miss the country air! But right now, when we’re coming up, it’s the place to be.”
NewDad’s debut album Madra is due out on January 26 via Fair Youth/Atlantic
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