West-Irish noisemakers Nerves are forging a path of extended amplitudes and nervous energy, of caustic rhythms and the ensuing destruction which exists in their wake. The dissonant and wiry static-punk eruptions of their live performances have cemented them as a band whose ambition matches their near-boundless talent. Instrument lay broken and scattered onstage and in the studio, with their 2024 EP Glórach standing as powerful evidence of their volatile sonic furies.
With recent standalone single, “Dirty Fingers“, they’ve continued to push their brazenly turbulent aesthetic into uncharted waters, aided in their endeavors by producer (and Gilla Band bassist) Daniel Fox. He’s brings out the barbarous nature of their collective musical wreckage, helping to shape a sound that feels industrial and corrugated and also quite beautiful in its own fractured way. It’s music that reminds you to make sure your tetanus shot is up to date. Their work challenges you to constantly adapt to the changing pressures around you, reveling in an emotionally fraught awareness that can shift perspectives at a moment’s notice. It’s something of an abrasive miracle.
The band recently spent some time digging through their home country’s various musical scenes and have picked out a few of their favorites artists. Check out their recommendations below and browse through a playlist of tracks from the artists they’ve included.
The scene here in Ireland is ridiculously healthy at the minute; it seems like every day new bands are popping up that are on a level that goes above and beyond what you would expect for a local band scene, and I think the quality of the music being so high creates this self-perpetuating cycle where the standard of everything just keeps rising because people are constantly exposed to bands on a local level that are doing really cool stuff and doing it very very well.
Here’s a few of our favourite Irish artists at the minute.
Bucket
Bucket are probably the only band in Ireland that give us a run for our money on the loudness side of things. One of the most abrasive and heavy bands I’ve ever seen but also full of extremely danceable moments; their sound is chaotic, deafening and insanely fun.
Pebbledash
I love these folks, their tunes are wonderfully melancholic, with a lot of different sounds in their arsenal, going from shoegaze tinged indie, to slower doomy dirges, to trad inspired instrumentals and vocals on different tracks, which is right up our street.
Stella And The Dreaming
Stella’s music is a world away from ours, but I’ve been obsessed with it for a while now. Full of beautiful piano playing, extremely interesting production and sound design, incredible vocals and lyrics that really take you out of yourself. The songwriting is incredibly detailed and emotive, very good music for wandering home late at night.
Casavettes
One of the first Irish bands we properly got into together, Casavettes are a band from Limerick that write perfect emo bangers. Real in the vein of bands like Mineral and Sunny Day Real Estate, they have an album called Senselessness that came out a couple of years ago, and it’s such a complete listen. The tracks have so much feeling, but there’s moments of pure heaviness and real pop sensibilities at times as well. The final track “I Can’t Stop Smiling” is an absolute opus!
Black Nylon
These lads are very new on the scene in Dublin; they’ve no music out, but I’ve caught them live and heard a couple of demos, and I love where they are going. In my opinion they have a kind of modern indie sound that’s fused with other stuff like post-rock and punk. It kind of creates this darker undertone to them which I love, and the songwriting is stellar but with some really well thought out soundscapes as well. Buzzing for them to get some music out there!
