Enemies set to showcase new songs at city gig

Playing guitar-driven indie, Wicklow band Enemies come to Galway’s Róisín Dubh on Thursday next, February 28. Based in Kilcoole, the quartet released their debut album, We’ve Been Talking in 2010.

The follow-up to that will be released in April and was recorded between guitarist Eoin Whitfield’s home studio and The Meadows in Delgany. The latter is run by the parents of Enemies’ drummer, Oisín McMahon-Trench.

“The new album was recorded between the studios, but mainly there,” says Eoin of the Delgany location. “The live room is professionally treated and sounds awesome.”

Enemies’ line-up is completed by Mark O’Brien on bass and Lewis Jackson on guitar. Their rhythmic sound takes a lot of rehearsing, and the structure of their new songs was locked down before they hit the record button.

“We had the songs written to the point of playing them live,” says Eoin. “We recorded them in that form and then started adding to them. We had guests come in and had them do little pieces. Every time something new got added the songs would change shape.”

And what guests – Enemies latest will include two nominees for this year’s prestigious Choice Music Prize, the Heathers and members of The Cast of Cheers.

“We had Heathers come in and do a song – the two girls, Ellie and Louise,” says Eoin. “And we had Conor, the singer from The Cast of Cheers, come in. We had Oisín from Croupier. Mark’s girlfriend Kate came in and did viola and singing. And Harry from Croupier did some synth.

“Myself and Mark have vocals on a few of them now,” he adds. “I think there are only two songs on the album that don’t have vocals on them. They’re kind of sparse, they’re not straight-up verse/chorus/verse as such – the vocals are used a bit differently.”

Singing is something of a departure for Enemies. We’ve Been Talking was largely instrumental, intricate guitar-driven music that is sometimes called ‘math-rock’. But Enemies don’t want to be boxed into one particular genre.

“None of us listen purely to instrumental music,” says Eoin. “And we’re making music that is a mish-mash of what we listen to as four people. To angle it more into something we could appreciate ourselves, we started using vocals. And Mark and I have been singers in bands in the past, so we said why not give it a go.”

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.