Live Review: NewDad - Gorilla, Manchester 04/04/2022
Ireland’s NewDad conquered Manchester, bringing their own brand of reverbed drenched, jangly indie to the city that invented it.
Queuing up outside Gorilla, under the arches of Oxford Road station, it was clear tonight’s show was going to be a perfect start to the week. NewDad, from Galway Ireland, have been steadily growing bigger and bigger with continued BBC Radio 6 Music support and countless Spotify editorial playlists. It seemed like the whole of Manchester were trying to squeeze into the venue to catch a glimpse of the band, before they take on the arenas.
The night at Gorilla began with a passionate and energetic performance from last-minute support band Crash. Their fuzzy alt-indie and shoegaze sound created a perfect opening set and created quite a buzz around the venue.
Next up, the main attraction, NewDad took their place on the stage. The LCD screen set the scene with stunning landscape visuals, placing the band a world away from the gloomy Manchester cavern. Once tuned, the band began the track ‘Drown’, taken from their 2021 EP Waves. Instantly it was clear why the band had sold out 500 capacity venue. From the get-go, the NewDad sound was established, with Julie Dawson’s vocals soaring elegantly above the reverb-washed soundscape crafted by herself and guitarist Sean O’Dowd. ‘Drown’ particularly showcases the rhythmic work of drummer Fiachra Parslow and bassist Àindle O’Beirn, with the bass playing a thumping Peter Hook-esque line, and drums following suit with a fast accented high-hat.
The next track was my particular favourite, ‘Blue’ , a single released back in 2020, and one of the few good things to come of that time. The track has an addictive guitar riff played by Julie, as she delivers the killer line “While you took your time, you wasted mine”. Both Julie’s and Sean’s guitars interweave seamlessly, with gorgeously reverberated parts. Before playing this track Julie exclaims “Thank you Manchester for selling out the show!”. It’s easy to forget this is an emerging band, but it won’t be long until they’re selling out whole tours.
‘Banshee’ followed, the title track of NewDad’s latest EP. This is another largely bass driven track, with the guitars taking on more of a heavier, grungier tone than the previous songs. It was an exciting change and showcases the depth of NewDad’s songwriting. Yet, Julie’s vocals remain restrained and smooth over the top.
Afterwards the band played ‘Say It’, the first track from their latest EP. This track was arguably the most up-tempo song performed. Fiachra’s drums blast energetically throughout, as Julie sings the ever so catchy hook “No, I don't want to say it, ‘cause you won't want to say it back”. This song has an energy similar to the early work of The Strokes and was a welcome change in tempo during the set.
Next up was ‘Spring’, another track from the new EP. The song features a classic NewDad jangly guitar riff intro, and gradually gets bigger towards the first chorus, with some gnarly drum fills and bass riffage. After this NewDad took us back to 2020 (in a good way), with ‘Cry’, another one of my favourites on the night. Introduced as “one to cry to”, the track is another example of NewDads ability to write simple yet memorable hooks which feel like they have existed for centuries; “Did you Cry for me? Because I cried for you”.
The set was then interrupted with a particularly terrible ‘knock-knock’ joke from drummer Fiachra (I thought it was funny don’t worry) before Julie announced the next track was a brand-new song from their unreleased album. The track ‘In My Head’ is definitely going to be another BBC 6 Music hit, with more reverby guitar goodness, and even an egg shaker outro!
Next up, the big one, introduced by Julie as “That song”. The room ascended as NewDad began their hit ‘I don’t recognise you’. It was almost like the band doing a lap of honour, with many of the crowd singing along to every line. Even if NewDad never write another song (I hope they don’t do that), ‘I don’t recognise you’ is soon to become a modern classic. It’s just one of those guitar riffs that spins around in your head for hours on end.
Afterwards the band went straight into ‘Slowly’, another track from their 2021 EP Waves. The song begins with an incredibly catchy repetitive bass line, and thumping drum pattern. “What do you wanna show me, you're way over there and you walk so slowly” sings Julie, another simple yet infectious hook.
Taking the energy down, NewDad performed Waves, the title track of their 2021 EP. It felt like a proper ‘lighter in the air’ moment. Introduced as “the first song we ever wrote” the song builds subtly and elegantly throughout and feels like a softer The Smashing Pumpkins anthem. The final song of the night was the 2020 single ‘How’, the first track the band released. It was a fitting finale to the show and felt like a full circle moment.
NewDad arrived in Manchester with Fender Jazzmasters and reverb pedals in hand, and conquered Gorilla, showing the city they deserve to be heard in the saturated home of indie music.
Words by Euan Blackman
