NewDad on relationship to Ireland: “We wanted to make something out of all the epic Irish mythology”

NewDad have opened up about their relationship to their home country of Ireland.

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The Galway quartet, who are now based in London, spoke about their connections to their home and how elements of its culture, from its language to its mythology, are reflected in their music for NME‘s The Cover. Their forthcoming debut album ‘Madra’, for example, takes its name for the Irish Gaelic word for ‘dog’.

“We have a great saying in Ireland: ‘Is fearr Gaeilge bhriste, ná Béarla cliste’, which means ‘broken Irish is better than clever English’ – more people should make the effort to speak it and encourage others to do the same,” said drummer Fiachra Parslow.

“I think being over here has made me even more connected to the language. People outside of Ireland think of the country in the context of leprechauns and all that shite – but that’s not right, you know? We wanted to make something out of all the epic Irish mythology instead.”

Elsewhere, NewDad also praised two other Irish acts who had a fundamental impact on them.

One particularly pivotal moment came for them was seeing Just Mustard open for The Cure at Dublin’s Malahide Castle in June 2019. “Watching Just Mustard perform was akin to an epiphany for us,” she says. “The Cure are the best band ever; to see some kids from a similarly rural part of Ireland open up for them was amazing. They got there through hard work and made us really want to go for it.”

Frontwoman Cara Joshi also described Fontaines D.C’s 2022 LP ‘Skinty Fia’, which unpacked the band’s feelings of displacement and guilt toward leaving Ireland, as “so beautiful and relatable.”

“It spoke to anyone who’s moving to a place they don’t know, and the conflict between loving your home and also being ashamed of it. I think the way that [Fontaines D.C. frontman] Grian [Chatten] voiced all of those big ideas was so dead-on; I truly believe he is one of our best songwriters.”

NewDad’s debut album ‘Madra’ will be released January 26 via Atlantic Records.

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