An Irish rock band is experiencing a surge in popularity, fueled by their latest album, critical acclaim, and sold-out shows. The band discusses their creative process, collaboration with renowned producers, and the inspiration behind their music.
The Irish rock band, consisting of Bono, Ryan McMahon (drums), Bobby Keating (bass), and Josh Jenkinson (guitars), has welcomed a new influx of young, passionate fans into their world, no doubt helped by their support slots on megatours with industry heavyweights. Their latest album, released via Polydor, are bright, expansive, and the group’s best yet. The venues keep growing at home and abroad, with tickets being snapped up and sold-out in minutes. Why’s it all come together at this moment?.
“Maybe when we were a bit younger, we wanted people to like us and wanted people to connect with it – and we still want that – but I think that’s different from making music that we want to make, that feels right to us,” says the band’s frontman. Elsewhere, Kid Harpoon has credits on Miley Cyrus’ Hot 100 chart-topper “Flowers,” and with HAIM and Florence + The Machine, a close collaborator of Kid Harpoon with songwriting credits on Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” and “Please Please Please,” as well as on ROSÉ and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” She recently snagged the songwriter of the year award at the 2025 Grammys, becoming the rising star in the songwriting world. The decision for the Dublin-born band to head to L.A. during the album’s writing phase gave them clarity and space away from their tried and tested methods. “We sound a lot more like how we’ve always wanted to. It gave us peace and quiet to listen to our gut instincts. When we were in London when we were writing and recording , it always felt like things were up in the air. With this one, we felt very calm all the way through and enjoyed the process. We just heard ourselves out. We weren’t listening to external anxieties; it felt satisfying.” No wonder there’s a lightness and confidence in these songs. The LP’s title track is built on a pulsing, subtle EDM beat before it hits a typically explosive chorus. Likewise, “A Question of You,” and “Billy (Yeah Yeah Yeah)” do away with the moody reverb heard on 2023 LP. In February the group will head out on the road in the U.K. for some of its biggest shows yet, including sold-out nights at London’s O2 Academy Brixton. They’ll then play in North and Latin America, Europe and then a massive homecoming show in Dublin to 20,000 fans. Speaking from Amsterdam while on the press trail, the band discusses the input from Kid Harpoon and Allen, the ever-shifting indie scene, global success for Irish artists and more. It’s always in the last week before it’s out that the doubts start to come in. We did an album playback yesterday with some fans who heard it for the first time, and they seemed to enjoy it.Yeah, but they wouldn’t say it to your face, though, would they? I’m sure we would have some fans that wouldn’t have a problem with that though…We didn’t have a deadline or tour that we had to be ready for. We had the freedom to create whatever we wanted to and assess it after we made it, instead of getting it straight out.With Kid Harpoon, his whole ethos was – which was really shocking given the records he’s worked on – that he didn’t want any labels or managers in the room when recording: “It’s just us making this album and we’ll think about the singles when we’re done.” I found that really refreshing because he was putting the album before anything. We hadn’t really had that approach before. We were chasing singles a lot of the time, and we just wanted to get out and tour, so this was a big opportunity to step back and reflect on what we were making.Initially there was perhaps fear in all of us. It was the first time that we’d worked with someone different. With our last producer , we’d been going to him since we were 17. We felt it was the right time to graduate from that, as it felt like our working relationship had gradually run its course for the time being. So it was important for us to work with something new for us to see what else they could bring out of us. is a great person to be around. Initially we wondered if he could work with a band like us, but we when we realised that he did that Kings of Leon album that really eased all our stress. When we were working with him, he was going darker than us. He’d say, “Don’t put that in, it’s too poppy!”They were very efficient. We didn’t waste any time. We had about nine days in L.A. before heading to RAK Studios in London, but we made a plan, and we stuck with what we set out to do. We also had a lot of fun with it too.He also wouldn’t send us what we’d done and recorded that day. He’d say, “Yeah, Brian, the engineer, will send it,” but just never did it. But once we got to the end, we realized we’d been going into the sessions totally fresh and hearing the songs and recordings again for the first time. You’re not constantly overthinking it. In the past, we’ve been known to get tunnel vision and overanalyze things.She came in to listen to the songs while we were in L.A. It was so cool to see someone at that level of songwriting and with all of her achievements come in and say, “You guys have got some pretty good tunes.” Hearing her come in and sing some of them was so inspiring.It was amazin
MUSIC IRELAND ALBUM SUCCESS TOUR SONGWRITING PRODUCTION
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