NewDad Tickets at 3Olympia Theatre

Crafting shimmering dream-pop gems that muster the spirit of shoegaze’s heyday, Galway group NewDad are breathing new life into the sub-genre.

Using music as a safe haven for the thoughts and feelings she can’t express anywhere else, NewDad’s singer and songwriter Julie Dawson’s journey started at the age of nine when she fell in love with Rodrigo y Gabriela, having discovered them via her parent’s record collection. 

Not many bands come together as an avoidance strategy, but that’s exactly how Dawson, Áindle O'Beirn and Fiachra Parslow began making music together whilst studying at secondary school. To avoid solo performances for their practical music exam, the trio banded together, shielding each other from the spotlight whilst sharing influences of The Cure and Pixies. Using a random band name generator to muster their moniker, they aptly landed on NewDad, as collectively the band “share the same awkward humour and scared enthusiasm that a real new dad would face with the task of raising their first child”.

When Sean O’Dowd – who initially recorded the band’s first batch of demos – joined them as a full-time member, NewDad became a fully-fledged four-piece, soon after releasing their debut single ‘How’ in 2020. Despite the lo-fi haziness of subsequent singles ‘Swimming’ and ‘Cry’, the band’s promise was evident, with Steve Lamacq snapping up the inexperienced but ambitious group for a live session on BBC6 Music in November of that year.

Propelled by an increasing interest in their post-punk-infused shoegaze, NewDad hunkered down in Belfast to record their debut EP, 'Waves', which was released in 2021. Dawson’s evocative vocals and self-deprecating, heart-puncturing lyricism coupled with the group’s swiftly maturing sound landed them slots at Green Man Festival that summer, and Pitchfork Music Festival Paris just months later. Single ‘Ladybird’ capped off a landmark twelve months for NewDad, who revealed their second EP, 'Banshee', was set for release at the turn of 2022 with Cara Joshi taking over bass-playing duties from O'Beirn.

Witnessing the trajectory of fellow Irish post-punk band Just Mustard – who secured a tour with NewDad’s idols The Cure – inspired Dawson. “We were like, maybe we could actually do this?”, she recalled. Though their self-belief was tentative to begin with, the buzz snowballed after touring with the likes of Wet Leg, Paolo Nutini and Inhaler, dropping stand-alone singles like ‘ILY2’ and ‘In My Head’ along the way 

The beauty and bite of NewDad’s debut album ‘Madra’ made the Galway band one of the biggest new hopes around. Their live performances so far have equally left an indelible mark, including standout sets at Koko, Glastonbury and groundbreaking shows in China and Japan. Vocalist and guitarist Julie Dawson fondly recalls the magic of 1,600 fans singing along in Shanghai, a testament to the band’s global resonance.