EP Review NewDad - Waves

In the twelve months since unveiling their first tracks, Galway’s NewDad have celebrated blanket praise from some of the most prominent tastemakers. Spurred on by the release of ‘Blue’ back in September 2020, the four-piece have honed their understated pairing of abstract emotion with the nostalgic lo-fi shoegaze that dominates their widely anticipated debut EP. Together they offer a palpable melancholy, one driven by vocalist Julie Dawson’s intricate balance of despondency and bite, not least on the subtle spite on the closing title track.

‘Waves’ favours feeling over storytelling, securing a universal relatability that when married with its contemporary nod to ‘90s trailblazers easily explains NewDad’s early success. It’s also a product of patience, arriving some years after the school friends began making music, and comprising a carefully curated collected of six tracks, having abandoned a number of songs in the process. In taking their time, NewDad deliver with notable confidence, not just in their sound but in their understanding of wide-reaching human emotion and the unpredictable impact of others.