NewDad – Madra: Sweetly sick shoegaze for the Snapchat generation

NewDad have gone from honest underdogs in a post-punk revived Ireland, to Atlantic signees, and now to one of the most promising stars in the crystalising shoegaze revival. We live in a world where a teenager takes an interest in Slowdive‘s music from TikTok, only to realise that their father is in Slowdive. Shoegaze joined up the misfits of the London scene in the early nineties, and with its second wind, it has joined up a community, both online and in person.

The languid but flammable, definitive but self-deceptive genre is having a well-deserved revival. London-via-Galway’s NewDad are a perfect example of the cutting-edge. From the unequivocally genre-inspired first notes of ‘Angel’, the listener is left with several choices; listen to the lyrics and follow a story of young frustration, bathe in the cloud of sound, or both. Every option is an absolute delight.

They’ve had the major label treatment. Profiles in NME are framed around taxis to fancy dinners; the album was recorded at Rockfield Studios, the birthplace of many beloved musical endeavours. Crucially, NewDad haven’t gotten lost in the glamour. Following on from a promising, dazzling pre-album career, this is a fantastic representation of their early career.

Julie Dawson’s double-layered vocals harmonise and converse throughout Madra. They evoke doubt and all the things you feel in high-intensity, emotional situations. Although the album follows a largely orthodox song structure, this is not out of character for NewDad. They have drawn on their magnificent pre-album work, such as the resigned ‘Blue’ and the airy ‘I Don’t Recognise You’. Madra is a major label announcement of what NewDad do best, and will hopefully reach the right audiences.

Orthodoxy does not mean a lack of range. You have the crunchy ‘In My Head’, the gently explosive ‘Dream Of Me’, and the paper-thin ‘White Ribbons’. However, NewDad shine when they show their attitude. ‘Sweetly Sick’ is the standout track, seeing Dawson dealing with paradoxical frustration; attraction and exasperation.

They sometimes lean into post-punk sentiments, with Dawson duetting and duelling with Sean O’Dowd’s spun-out single notes over ‘Where I Go’. NewDad are immersive in the sense of traditional shoegaze, but have more of an overt kick; where Neil Halstead’s lyrics may hit you when you least expect it, Dawson’s will pack no punches.

It’s no surprise that the lyricist who gifted us “While you took your time, I wasted mine, I said I wanted you, you said you felt too blue” continues to be astonishing. Not only can the listener enjoy Madra for the here and now, but also to wonder and speculate which direction the band go next. They could play with song structure, like Hotline TNT, or lean deeper into the darker side of their sound.

Whichever they choose to do, Madra shows that New Dad will excel, whilst not falling too deeply into cliché or risking being pigeonholed. For a just over 40-minute LP and an announcement to the world, it’s not bad at all.