Closely following their sold out Grand Social show in Dublin, Galway natives NewDad have dropped their track ‘Break In’, out today through Fair Youth/Atlantic. A whirling slice of dream pop, the song was written by lead singer Julie when she was a teenager (under the name “Joolee”), before NewDad existed.
NewDad Guitarist Sean O’Dowd (who also lends himself to the song’s production) says – "We decided that the song was too good to go to waste and now would be the perfect time to revisit the production with what we had learned in the years since. The song is about feeling like a stranger in your own body, while losing your sense of self.” Additional production on the track and mixing is by Pearson Sound – one third of pioneering UK collective Hessle Audio – in one his first forays outside of the electronic music scene.
Ethereal yet expansive, Galway-formed band NewDad (a moniker they picked from a random name generator) draw musical influence from the likes of The Cure to Pixies. Mixing grungy distortion with incandescent melodies, the tracks are further brought to life by singer Julie Dawson’s ghostly vocals, as presented in last month’s iridescent track ‘In My Head’; a song that was mixed by Mike Crossey (MUNA, The 1975) and found singer Julie Dawson grapple with her inner turmoil. From that point on, NewDad have been busy recording their debut album at the legendary Rockfield Studios (Black Sabbath, Oasis), marking an exciting new chapter for the band.
Formed in Galway, Ireland in 2020 before the world came to a standstill – the group officially came together for a musical practical at school as part of a final year music project – NewDad have released two EP’s previously: Waves (2021) and Banshee (2022) – both produced by long-time collaborator Chris W Ryan, with the latter mixed by John Congleton (St Vincent, Phoebe Bridgers). Part of the Ireland’s fruitful music scene (one that’s generated Fontaine’s D.C, CMAT and Just Mustard over recent years), NewDad are here to remind us of the restlessness, anxieties and relationship hang-ups that we’ve all come to face over our lives. Straddling the autobiographical with the fantastical, the band also draw influence modern-day cinema and TV to the serene coastal environment of Galway that backdropped their formative years.
NewDad recently returned to their homeland to playa sold out show at Dublin’s Grand Social. They have previously opened for Paolo Nutini at Alexandra Palace (and are set to support him again on his Irish tour in June alongside Julia Jacklin), Fontaines DC at Custom House Square and Inhaler at Fairview Park.
