EP Review: BOLD LOVE - 'Dancing & Loving'
The Dublin sextet make their mark with a debut EP of lush, eclectic soundscapes, cementing BOLD LOVE’s fast-rising status and signalling a bright, dancing, loving future.
Emerging from friends to bandmates, the six members of BOLD LOVE bring a range of influences from jazz to traditional Irish music into one unique melting pot, forged together through chemistry and trust. Under their former name Big Love, the six- piece act garnered a large Irish following, and after renaming to BOLD LOVE they enter a new era with the release of their debut EP Dancing & Loving. Produced by Richie Kennedy (Interpol, Celeste, White Lies), the EP is an ambitious collection of emotionally and instrumentally rich tracks that loosely straddle the alternative rock and indie pop spheres yet refuse to be pigeonholed into one genre or style. Dancing & Loving is a bold statement of intent for a band hitting their stride at just the right time.
It's no accident that love remains a point of continuity between the group’s new and old identities. Much of the 6-track EP navigates relationships and emotional themes, none more so than ‘Feel You Close’, released as a single in July. The poppy track is an ode to songwriter and lead singer Cian Ó’Maonlaí’s late grandfather, featuring resonant, emotive lines such as “When you opened your mouth words needn’t come out, sorrow suffocated the room”. Where the track really shines is in the stunning interplay between Cian and singer/keyboardist Megan Nic Ruairí’s vocals. By the track’s final chorus, the pair’s duet is nothing short of enchanting, impressively weaving together their differing voice tones to create a dynamic finale to an especially moving track.
“It’s about youth, love, death and a sense of place and belonging” Cian says of Dancing & Loving. “It’s a reflection on navigating life up until now. This EP is our way of trying to deal with things. Life is mad and we’re just Dancing & Loving our way through it.”
The band’s relationship with their native Ireland is the subject of ‘I’m Home’, also released as a single preceding the EP. Amid the twinkling guitar melodies there’s hints of Sam Fender and The War On Drugs, as BOLD LOVE effortlessly make the challenging step from alt-rock riffs to earworm melodies primed for mainstream listening. Cian’s haunting repetition of “Well I’m a dead man walking out to sea” is as memorable as it is intriguing, again flawlessly complemented by Megan’s exquisite harmonies.
“Your cultural landscape and political climate will always shape the art you make” proclaims guitarist Jack Cody. “Whether you're looking inwards or casting your gaze further afield for inspiration and writing material. A lot of Cian’s lyrics are introspective but set against the wider context of the place we grew up in and what’s expected of you. We're trying to do the same with our music as well, and not be boxed into any one sound.”
Caught between the alternative rock and indie pop spheres, Dancing & Loving at times strays towards a darker sound, matching Cian’s sometimes sombre lyrics. The contemplative ‘Easy’ leans into its dissonance more and more as the song develops, whilst ‘That’s Where The Heart Is’ features distorted vocals, biting guitar licks and a thudding bass track more reminiscent of post-punk than anything in the pop sphere. As a six-part band, whilst their sound is expansive, it remains strikingly warm. Across a remarkably diverse debut offering, their intricate, thoughtful compositions achieve a satisfying balance between strong riffs and soft intimacy. From the Strokes-esque antiphonal guitar riff heard at the beginning of ‘All The Lives’, there’s a particular urgency about the opening song: BOLD LOVE have something to prove, and each kick of Anton Shovlin’s drumkit is immensely powerful. The track brims with mainstream appeal: when the anthemic chorus comes, it feels destined to be sung back by crowds of clamouring fans.
And yet by the EP’s end, ‘The Streets Are Sleeping’ delivers a beautiful denouement, with Cian and Megan performing another touching duet, here over sparse piano and slowly bowed strings. The euphoric tune – also devoted to their Dublin residence – perfectly captures the beauty and bliss of the early hours before the city awakens. BOLD LOVE’s range as a band is impressive, able to tug at heartstrings as easily as rouse crowds to their feet.
The night before Dancing & Loving released, the group headlined The Camden assembly, and next week are playing a landmark Dublin show, moved from Whelan’s to The Workman’s Club due to high demand for the spirited energy of their live performances. After a summer of memorable festival slots, including All Points East and Latitude, and now their debut EP released to the world, BOLD LOVE is looking towards the future. With more shows and music coming very soon, they are rapidly becoming one of Ireland’s most compelling new musical exports, with their star burning brighter by the day.
Words by Taran Will
