The factor about wanting into a refined floor is that your reflection will all the time be a smudge in its sheen. On ‘Madra’, NewDad discover seams of doubt, uncertainty and frustration staring again at them from beneath an in any other case serene shoegaze-pop exterior.
There’s a level a number of songs into the London-via-Galway quartet’s debut album when their previous and current meet, with the roiling feelings of younger maturity contained in Julie Dawson’s lyrics slicing by the glistening, propulsive sound the band have usual right into a protecting cocoon for the reason that launch of their promising-if-half-formed early EPs. “I don’t know the place I’m going, I don’t know the place I’m going,” Dawson repeats on ‘The place I Go’, her sense of dislocation rising with every extra syllable.
However whereas her phrases painting somebody casting about for an anchor, NewDad’s circumstances are altogether extra concrete. With main label backing and sufficient hype on their facet to energy Kevin Shields’ amplifier skyline, they’re neatly positioned within the slipstream of the shoegaze second being loved by reunited OG bands similar to Slowdive and Trip, together with extra seasoned next-gen acts in Nothing or Spirit Of The Beehive.
This weight of expectation sits simply on the broad shoulders of the LP’s greatest tracks, although, that are all could-be singles characterised by a eager appreciation of melody that continues to elude a lot of NewDad’s friends. ‘The place I Go’ leads off a killer run on the coronary heart of ‘Madra’ the place the band – accomplished by guitarist Sean O’Dowd, bassist Cara Joshi and drummer Fiachra Parslow – set recent benchmarks in fast succession.
‘In My Head’ and ‘Dream Of Me’ are dream-pop gems with some beautiful, nerdy guitar stuff set off to every facet within the combine, whereas ‘Let Go’ is a hulking, riffy beast. The central hook behind ‘Change My Thoughts’, in the meantime, is an actual flex, taking up an instantly traditional really feel as Dawson’s voice twists within the air.
Its few prosaic moments – together with the oddly-sequenced opening pair of ‘Angel’ and ‘Sickly Candy’ – are on the very least fashionable and delivered with muscular aptitude as Joshi’s bass does a lot of the heavy lifting. Equally, whereas NewDad won’t be as structurally creative because the power-pop-indebted Hotline TNT or as heavy because the nu-gaze-leaning Fleshwater, they’re maybe extra streamlined and collectively, which counts for lots.
‘Madra’ is the sound of a band who’ve reckoned with the place they arrive from and used it to map out the place they’re going. They’ll doubtless see you on the high.
Particulars
- Launch date: January 26
- Report label: Atlantic
