They do remixes for superstars, play festivals, write the soundtracks for adverts – and some of them haven't even got their Leaving Cert results yet. UNA MULLALLYmeets the young Irish bands that are making the loudest noise
Heathers
WhoTwins Ellie and Louise McNamara
Age21
SoundTightly honed guitar pop with brilliant harmonies, drawing comparisons with Tegan Sara
Coming from the DIY scene that spawned the Hideaway House, Dylan Haskins’s all-ages venue in a house in Deansgrange, Dublin, Heathers first performed on Killiney Hill, in 2007, when a group of friends urged them to sing. In May of that year, they played their first gig at the Lower Deck in Portabello.
“Being young females, sometimes you may not be taken too seriously,” Louise says. “Sometimes, when we started off, people were like, ‘Oh, two girls with a guitar,’ and brushed us to the side.”
But they've come a long way from hiding in bathrooms before going on stage in venues they were too young to be in. Their debut album Here, Not There, delivered the single Remember When, which is used on the current Discover Ireland ad. Now, with management, a distribution deal and US tours underneath their belt, they pack their shows. "Just go for it and stay true to what you want to be," Ellie advises other young bands. "Don't let anyone tell you you need to change, keep playing, work hard and, above all, enjoy it."
Moths
WhoKildare native Jack Colleran
Age18
SoundChillwave to die for
Moths is just downright scary. He has yet to perform live (Castlepalooza next weekend will be his first gig) and has been releasing music only since December. But already he has an official Interpol remix under his belt, and electronic musicians and fans alike are fawning over tunes like Blistersand Summer.
“I started playing piano when I was five and was in bands when I was growing up,” Jack says. “I got serious about it in December last year because I wanted to focus more. Then I made these songs, and it took off. I did Blisters around the Christmas holidays. I was off from school so I wrote it in a day and uploaded it straight away.”
Getting in touch with his electronic contemporaries Jape and Solar Bears helped him along, but he says his best advice comes from his dad. “He tries to look out for me more than anyone else.”
Everything about Moths is sharp, from the music itself to the feeling of the artwork and videos. At such an embryonic stage it’s difficult to tell how his trajectory will run, but saying the signs are promising would be an understatement. Moths is hoping to release an EP after the summer and is in negotiations with an associate of one of the best labels around.
Spies
WhoMichael Broderick, Neil Dexter, Conor Cusack, Andy McGurk and Jeffrey Flynn
Age19-21
SoundLoud, Editors-fuelled brooding rock
When Spies took to the stage at the Forbidden Fruit festival earlier this summer, you could be excused for thinking a young, dapper boy band had taken a wrong turn at an X Factor audition. But then the music started, and the seriousness of a band this young playing anthemic indie this developed is almost unnerving. It’s probably why you couldn’t have swung a mic without hitting someone from a major label or a promoter in the tent.
Their first proper gig was at Eamonn Doran’s, when the youngest band member, Michael, was just 16. Recalling the show, Conor, another member of the band, says it was “absolutely terrifying”. Conor’s boss runs the Rage record shop on Fade Street in Dublin, and with his help, along with that of Liam Mulvaney at Asylum Studios on Bow Lane, the band released a seven-inch on Trout Records and are shunning the labels that have come courting, concentrating on the music instead.
“Michael just finished his Leaving Cert, so now it’s just about writing songs rather than all that label stuff,” Conor says, “We want to focus on the songs at the moment.”
Hipster Youth
WhoAidan Wall
Age20
SoundWarm lo-fi electronic nuggets
Aidan played his first gig at Anseo, in Dublin, aged 17, alongside Patrick Kelleher, Squarehead and Rhob Cunningham.
“I’ve heard of some people who make it a gimmick that they’re young. But it’s nice to be detached from what the scene is. You’re freer to try new things and not have a fan base to worry about,” he says. “I didn’t really worry about it. I released stuff when I was 17, but people weren’t liking it just because I was 17.”
His album, Teenage Elders, was released last year as a free download, "unless you want to give me free money", his website clarifies. For now he's happy to continue working in his bedroom, from where he also runs a label, Long Lost Records, releasing his friends' music.
Although he looks up to the likes of Kelleher, Squarehead and Gerard Duffy of School Tour, and says the Dublin music scene is “very friendly, there’s no ego: everyone is on the same level”, he says he’s “an introverted person. I wouldn’t seek out advice. I just risk doing things my own way.”
Harry Alfie
WhoBrothers Harry and Alfie Hudson-Taylor
Age18 and 19
SoundTeen-friendly acoustic guitar pop
No Irish act has harnessed the power of the online message more than Harry Alfie. They sell themselves and their personality as much as their music, meaning they had fans before they even toured.
“It’s nice to go into the world of gigging with a fan base already. It’s not just going to be your mum and dad at the gig,” Harry says. It also means that you’re more likely to be taken seriously. “The thing about the whole promoter thing is a lot of people will say, ‘I’m not going to take advantage of you because you’re young,’ and then they do,” he adds. “You have to have your head screwed on and know what’s supposed to be done and be able to question people on all their actions. You have to have your game face on and act maturely.”
They couple their online presence – a bustling YouTube channel, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Soundcloud, Bandcamp and everything else you can think of – with busking around Grafton Street and have a growing army of teen fans. “It’s a whole different approach to being in a band nowadays,” says Harry. “It’s a lot more about communicating with people.”
Little Green Cars
WhoStevie Appleby, Donagh Seaver, Adam Little, Dylan Lynch and Faye ORourke
AgeAll 19
SoundExcellent guitar and piano-based tunes with accomplished vocals destined for big things
This five-piece have not so much been raising eyebrows as dropping jaws recently, as their talent and dedication are about to pay off.
They played their first gig in Wesley, that south Dublin bastion of teenage hormones, in 2008, and now have major labels drooling over their brilliantly constructed, gorgeous new-folk-versus-Arcade-Fire clatter. Their new single, The John Wayne, is out on the Young and Lost Club (Noah The Whale's label), produced by David Kosten, who produced both Bat for Lashes albums.
“People can take it as a novelty that we’re young when that’s never been part of the band,” Stevie says. “I think that hard work pays off. Three years ago if someone had told me that, I would have told them to f**k off, but three years later I know it pays off.”
The buzz around Little Green Cars is building. All they have to do is keep their eyes on the prize, have some fun, and the crescendo won’t be too far away.