{"id":71701,"date":"2025-09-18T15:59:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T15:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/71701\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T15:59:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T15:59:10","slug":"a-beautifully-melancholy-portrait-of-homesickness-and-sacrifice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/71701\/","title":{"rendered":"a beautifully melancholy portrait of homesickness and sacrifice"},"content":{"rendered":"

NewDad<\/a>\u2019s debut album \u2018Madra\u2019<\/a>, released only 20 months ago, made the Galway dream-pop band\u2019s dreams come true. In the time since that record\u2019s release, the former NME Cover stars<\/a> have toured the world and gained acclaim<\/a> from across the music world \u2013 including from their hero, The Cure<\/a>\u2019s Robert Smith<\/a>. So, their second album should be a pretty cheery listen\u2026 right?<\/p>\n

Largely written before \u2018Madra\u2019 was released, \u2018Altar\u2019 isn\u2019t quite bursting with joy. Instead, it finds singer and guitarist Julie Dawson<\/a> deep in homesickness and trying to figure out if the band\u2019s move to London to give them better access to opportunities to help them grow was all worth it. Here, Galway is the altar at which she\u2019s worshipping, and the thing she\u2019s had to sacrifice to experience the highs that the group\u2019s debut led to.<\/p>\n

Through the torment and the tension, she\u2019s clearly working through on the record, \u2018Altar\u2019 is a beautiful portrait of working out what you\u2019re willing to give up and how to keep pushing yourself forward despite the aching within you. While it would be easy for NewDad \u2013 completed by guitarist Sean O\u2019Dowd and drummer Fiachra Parslow \u2013 to get bogged down in the misery and longing, there\u2019s a sense of optimism that pierces through in places.<\/p>\n

The atmospheric layers of \u2018Mr Cold Embrace\u2019 swell with hope, as Dawson calls back to her hometown: \u201cComfort me, save me \/ I\u2019ll just keep praying\u201d. There\u2019s faith that the company and support of those around her can make things feel better on the gorgeous closer \u2018Something\u2019s Broken\u2019: \u201cClose my eyes, keep me distracted \/ Hold my hand so I can stand it\u201d.<\/p>\n

Forcing yourself to keep going through uncomfortable situations and emotions can only lead to growth, and there\u2019s plenty of that for NewDad on \u2018Altar\u2019. The album sees the trio bringing in more pop-leaning instrumentals in places (the bouncing, hook-filled \u2018Entertainer\u2019) and dialling up the aggression in others. The latter forms a golden moment early in the record, with a one-two punch of \u2018Roobosh\u2019 \u2013 which finds Dawson yelling out her frustrations \u2013 and the buzzsaw gloom of \u2018Misery\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tell myself \/ That it\u2019s everything I wanted,\u201d Dawson sighs on the icy jangle of \u2018Everything I Wanted\u2019. It\u2019s that desire that drives \u2018Altar\u2019, and by extension NewDad, forward \u2013 and increases the likelihood that the things they\u2019ve given up and the distance they\u2019ve put between themselves and their home will all pay off in the end.<\/p>\n

Details<\/strong><\/p>\n

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