Girl Band (Irish band)
Girl Band are an Irish post-punk band from Dublin. Formed in 2011, the group is composed of vocalist Dara Kiely, guitarist Alan Duggan, bassist Daniel Fox and drummer Adam Faulkner.
History
Early years
Prior to Girl Band, Dara Kiely, Alan Duggan and Daniel Fox played in the indie rock band Harrows alongside vocalist Ben Wadel and guitarist Kevin Towey. Harrows formed when the members were in secondary school at the age of 16 and was described by Kiely and Fox as "a shit version of the Strokes". Harrows were not signed to any label whilst active and have uploaded what little songs they have online, on sites such as YouTube and Myspace. The band self-financed a music video for the track "Leave Again". Kiely played drums in Harrows and it was not until after Harrows disbanded that he attempted singing.Girl Band was formed in Dublin in July 2011 by vocalist Dara Kiely, guitarist Alan Duggan, bassist Daniel Fox and drummer Adam Faulkner. In April 2012 they released their debut single "In My Head", on Any Other City Records.
The band followed up their debut single with an EP which was recorded live and produced by the band. This EP was titled France 98 and was released through Any Other City. Both the band's debut single and EP were released as a free download on the band's Bandcamp page. Girl Band then recorded a cover of "Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage?" by techno artist Blawan, which furthered their reputation and expanded their fan base, setting them up for a handful of UK tour dates throughout April 2013.
Rough Trade
Throughout 2014 Girl Band released a number of limited 7" singles on Any Other City records. In December 2014 they signed to Rough Trade Records. The record deal came about after the founder of the label, Geoff Travis saw them perform numerous times, and he wanted to "facilitate what doing on a bigger scale". Girl Band were given full creative control and allowed produced their own records.Girl Band released their debut album Holding Hands With Jamie on Rough Trade in September 2015. Self-produced, it was recorded at Bow Lane Studios in Dublin.
''The Talkies''
In June 2019, Girl Band released "Shoulderblades", their first single in four years. A second single titled "Going Norway" followed in August 2019.These songs are the singles for the bands second album The Talkies, which was released by Rough Trade on 27 September.Style
The band's debut album was well received by music critics. Pitchfork said that "Dara Kiely brings heavy vibes and great songs to Girl Band's new album. Should you laugh? Holding Hands With Jamie is as discomfiting as Kiely’s mental state". The Guardian described the band as "full of sound and fury" and stated "This Irish four-piece howls at you from the very start, an unbroken series of thumping, crashing songs strewn with fractured, imagistic lyrics". Rolling Stone commented about Dara Kiely's vocal performance stating, " sure sounds convincing. But he doesn't seem too shy about it, either – less like someone cowering embarrassedly in his room than a guy who's turned his fish-belly skin and concave abs into a creepy point of pride. That kind of confrontational, matter-of-fact ugliness is what this Irish post-punk crew does so well, torturing their instruments with dead-eyed precision and diabolical resolve. The dank, relentless music sounds like it was recorded in a meat locker under a fallout shelter". Rolling Stone also compared the band to Liars and Nick Cave's Birthday Party.Influences
When asked about their influences, drummer Adam Faulkner said that "most of the bands we get compared to we don’t really listen to. For ages, for like a whole year, we got compared to Mclusky, and none of us ever listened to it. And then we all did and were just like, Nah, don’t like it." The band cite influences ranging from bands such as Bad Brains, James Chance and the Contortions, Neu!, and The Chemical Brothers.Band members
- Dara Kiely – vocals
- Alan Duggan – guitar
- Daniel Fox – bass guitar
- Adam Faulkner – drums
Discography
Studio albums
EPs
Singles
Music videos| Title | Year | Director |
| "Lawman" | 2014 | Second/Frame |
| "De Bom Bom" | 2014 | Second/Frame |
| "Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage?" | 2015 | Bob Gallagher |
| "Paul" | 2015 | Bob Gallagher |
| "Pears for Lunch" | 2015 | Bob Gallagher |
| "In Plastic" | 2015 | Bob Gallagher |
| "Shoulderblades" | 2019 | Bob Gallagher |
| "Going Norway" | 2019 | Bob Gallagher |
Other appearances
| Year | Song | Album | Comments |
| 2013 | "Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage?" | Quompilation #3 | Cover of a 2012 Blawan song. Later released on The Early Years. |