âThis is fucking crazy, looking at you all here,â NewDad vocalist and guitarist Julie Dawson offers as a sold-out KOKO crowd wave back from the dizzying heights of the rafters. Weâre here on the launch tour fresh from the Galway upstartsâ recent debut album, âMadraâ. This hallowed room has seen much more established names pull much smaller and less fervent crowds, but thereâs something in the intensity and intimacy of their shoegaze-meets-grunge sound that pulls people close.
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Resplendent all in white and with a ghostly forest backdrop â complete with creepy shadow-puppet goings on â NewDad are inviting you into their own wee universe. Opener âAngelâ has that ghostly yet warm knack borrowed from Robert Smith and co. Later in the night, theyâll deliver a cover of The Cureâs âJust Like Heavenâ, delivered with a new lightness and noted as âone for all you 6 Music dadsâ â but we must also note the many teens opening moshpits for anything louder than a whisper.
Anyone who says thereâs no interest from the new generation in actual bands can get to fuck. Thereâs a cult fanbase building here from the young hungry for something fresh, and latter generations who recognise a certain class passed down through their influences.
From the haze-y dream-pop of âDream Of Meâ to the goth-y menace of âSickly Sweetâ, NewDadâs sound matches their arresting presence. âHow you doing London?â asks drummer Fiachra Parslow with all the credence of a frontman as he beams from behind his wall of sound screens. âJust because Iâm trapped in the fucking fish tank doesnât mean you wonât listen to me!â
Heâd later emerge from his prison to take centre stage and play bodhrĂĄn for âWhite Ribbonsâ, a track described by Dawson as capturing that feeling âafter a ropey night out and you ask, âOh noâ, what have I done to myself?ââ. Well, weâve had a heady shot of something strong tonight. If this is what they can do with just over an hour, just wait to see what comes after their next record.

ââMadraâ is Irish for âdogâ,â says Dawson introducing the closing title track. âAfter three, I want to hear everyoneâs best barkâ. We give a noble effort, but KOKOâs bark is not as loud as its howl. This band have something special. Hold them as close as they hold you.
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