We were delighted to sit down with The Violet Breaks on the release of their new album, 'Triple Volt'. They discuss their biggest influences and how they created their unique sound. Be sure to check out the album at the bottom (especially 'Lux') and follow them on socials!
The Strokes - The Adults Are Talking
When Eoghan (TVB lead singer) and I started writing songs together, before forming the band as it is today, we were listening to The Strokes latest album The New Abnormal and talking about how this is the type of music we wanted to write.
Cool guitars, a great back beat, a catchy melody and a little bit of electronic influence in a guitar driven indie band.
We didn’t quite get the electronic influence into our album Triple Volt, it’s a straight up 4 piece indie rock album - but let’s see where album 2 takes us.
The Adults are Talking isn’t just a great song, to me it also represents the start of this band and the ideas behind what became our debut album.
Varley - Footsteps
The term earworm was invented for songs like this.
I first heard a demo of this song on a phone speaker in a car in Greece - Its catchy weird melody and harmonies kept going around in my head long after the song had finished.
I wish I knew how to write a song like this!
We have a lot of personal connections with this band, with Claire-Ann (singer) being an old friend and one-time band mate, and Matze (multi-instrumentalist genius) being the producer on our album.
His influence was incredible and took our songs to a new level.
If catchy alt-pop is your thing, Varley are a must and Footsteps is a great place to start.
Delorentos - Little Sparks
Delorentos are an indie band from Dublin that I’ve always loved and looked up to - They’ve been around since the mid 2000s but their three albums between 2012 and 2018 is where I think they really thrived.
Dublin in the early 2010’s was a strange place to be. The financial crash had hit hard, and unemployment and emigration were high. Bars, cafes and restaurants we loved were closing, and everyone was leaving to London, Canada or Australia.
I was still studying so wasn’t going anywhere, but so many friends who couldn’t get jobs decided to move away.
It seemed like every other week had another leaving party, another friend moving.
When Delorentos released their Little Sparks album in 2012, it was at the peak of this.
To promote the album the band did a pop up shop tour of Ireland using vacant retail spaces in city centres to play the songs and sell the record.
A great idea, but the fact that this was possible because so many retail spaces were vacant all around the country should really give an idea of just how gloomy things were.
I don’t know the meanings behind the songs, but to me this album always felt like the start of things getting better, the little sparks of positivity coming back into life in Dublin.
Any time I revisit the album, this is the first track I go to.
The Olllam - the belll
Ever find yourself wondering what Irish whistle and pipe music would sound like with a groovy back beat and Joe Dart bass lines?
No, me neither… And then I heard The Olllam.
A friend/TVB photographer sent me this song one day, and I was mesmerised. Everything I’d come to know and expect from Traditional Irish music changed with this.
I saw The Olllam recently in Dublin, and it’s no exaggeration to say it was the best show I’ve ever seen.
6 standout musicians at the top of their game wowing a crowd with moments of collective and individual brilliance.
Incredible!
The Beatles - In My Life
No ‘songs I love’ list is complete without a Beatles song, and for me, In My Life is the one.
The Violet Breaks - Triple Volt
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