New single tackles thorny subject of road fatalities

Portumna native Johnluke has been releasing music for less than two years – but you wouldn’t know it from glancing at his discography. An extensive catalogue of folk, pop and country ballads has trailed the singer-songwriter since early 2024, coupled with a rigorous schedule of live performances and a diligent approach to social media.

Johnluke’s latest single, Angry in the Moment, arrived last week, veering away from the well-trodden ground of the love song and into a far less familiar subject matter.

“I was on the way to a gig and one of my friends was in a car accident,” he says. “I got a phone call just before I went onstage to say [what had happened], and I couldn’t really do anything about it. He was okay, but it was just playing on my mind that the worst thing was after happening to him.

“I got home, and I wrote Angry in the Moment from the perspective that he had passed away from the accident. He was going through stuff and he was a bit stressed and angry – going through his own life struggles. I wrote the majority of the song that night, and then a few months down the line, I crashed my own car.”

Johnluke’s crash was the result of unexpected debris on the road during a red weather warning, but being involved in that sort of situation made him re-evaluate his approach to driving altogether.

“I was going through a break-up myself and I was angry, and I was behind the wheel of a car,” he says. “It wasn’t necessarily the anger that caused the accident – it was just a tree that fell on the road and I crashed into it. But it really drew my eye to how dangerous the roads can become when you’re not in the right headspace.

“Over the last few months, I feel like all I’m seeing in the news is people crashing.”

Speeding and drink-driving are well publicised contributors to risk on the road, but emotional regulation is rarely put forward as a major issue for drivers to consider. Johnluke’s appeal may resonate in particular with young male drivers.

Pictured:  Johnluke...new single out now.