LEAD TRACK ‘LET GO’ OUT NOW
UK TOUR ANNOUNCED FOR JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
Irish alt/rock collective NewDad announce details of their debut album, Madra, set for release on January 26, 2024, through Fair Youth/Atlantic. The album news comes with the release of ‘Angel’ – the band’s grunge-fuelled album opener. Awash with spiralling guitars and a hypnotic bassline, singer/guitarist Julie Dawson finds inspiration in TV show Euphoria, as she ruminates on the destructive relationship of characters, Rue and Jules: a storyline that she herself gravitated towards.
Madra (meaning “dog” in Irish) is an 11-song, guitar-stacked visceral outing, as singer/guitarist Julie Dawson embarks on a journey of self-exploration, self-sabotage, and reflection. Soaked in dysfunction, Madra searches for solace in pain, tackling themes of bullying (‘Where I Go’), self- medication/depression (‘Madra’, ‘Let Go’), destruction (‘Change My Mind’, ‘White Ribbons’), co- dependency (‘Nosebleed’) and resistance (‘Nightmares’). The album artwork, photographed by Irish creative, Joshua Gordon, shows a broken doll that serves as a metaphor for the album’s themes of fragility and vulnerability.
The album finds NewDad reconnect with their musical roots, digging deep into the shoegaze/rock sonics that soundtracked their formative years (the band cite Pixies, The Cure and Slowdive as some of their biggest early influences), together with glimmers of indie/pop that harks back to their earlier material: ‘Waves EP’ (2021) and ‘Banshee EP’ (2022). Written in their home city of Galway, Ireland, before the band moved to London this year, and recorded at the legendry Rockfield Studios (Black Sabbath, Queen), the album has been produced by NewDad’s long-time collaborator Chris Ryan (Just Mustard) and mixed by Alan Moulder (The Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, Wet Leg). Bound together by Julie’s ghostly vocal – a vessel for her weighty, introspective songwriting – Madra firmly marks NewDad as one of Ireland’s most promising debut guitar bands.
Speaking of the band’s debut, Julie says – “Madra meaning dog in Irish explores various difficult parts of the human condition and the idea of the title is that these feelings that come up are sometimes ones you can’t escape, feelings that follow you around like a dog. We had an amazing team around us who helped bring these songs to life and we’re so excited for this album to be out in the world. We hope that people connect with the songs and that Madra can be a comfort to everyone who listens.”
NewDad recently played a sold-out show at London’s The Lower Third on Sep 11. They will tour the
UK and Ireland in February/March 2024.
Madra track listing
Angel
Sickly Sweet
Where I Go
Change My Mind
In My Head
Nosebleed
Let Go
Dream Of Me
Nightmares
White Ribbons
Madra
UK & Ireland Tour
DECEMBER 2023
1 – Galway – Roisin Dubh
FEBRUARY 2024
24 – Leeds – Belgrave Music Hall
25 – Manchester – Band on The Wall
26 – Glasgow – St Luke’s
28 – Dublin – Button Factory
MARCH 2024
2 – Birmingham – O2 Institute
3 – Bristol – Trinity
5 – London – Koko
About NewDad
Galway-formed band NewDad (a moniker they picked from a random name generator) formed in
Galway, Ireland in 2020 after coming together for a musical practical at school, as part of a final year
project. It’s a songwriting journey that began at the age of nine, when singer/guitarist Julie Dawson
took up guitar after falling for Mexican guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriele via her parent’s record collection
before developing her skill set at various summer camps as a teen.
NewDad have released two hyped EP’s previously – Waves (2021) and Banshee (2022) – both of
which were produced by Chris W Ryan, with the latter mixed by John Congleton (St Vincent, Phoebe
Bridgers). Since signing to Atlantic Records earlier this year, the band have dropped two tracks, ‘In
My Head’ (which will feature on their debut) and ‘Break In’.
Part of the Ireland’s fruitful music scene – one that’s generated Fontaine’s D.C, CMAT and Just
Mustard over recent years – NewDad are here to remind us of the restlessness, anxieties, and the
sometimes-flawed relationships that we’ve all had to navigate throughout our lives. Straddling the
autobiographical with the fantastical, the band also draw influence from modern-day cinema/TV and
their home city of Galway.
NewDad recently returned to their homeland to playa sold out show at Dublin’s Grand Social. They
have previously opened for Paolo Nutini at Alexandra Palace, Fontaines DC at Custom House Square
and Inhaler at Fairview Park.
FOLLOW NEWDAD
My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago
