The irresistible appeal of songwriting is the opportunity to give voice to the ineffable. For NewDad-singer/guitarist Julie Dawson, music has always served as a safe haven for articulating what she struggles to express elsewhere – a place where she can explore her deepest emotions without compromise.
Since self-releasing debut single ‘How’ in 2020, NewDad have released two acclaimed EPs, opened for Inhaler and Wet Leg at Fairview Park and played arenas with Paolo Nutini. And as their audience has grown, so too has the scope of their ambition sonically.
Where their earliest bedroom recordings ‘Swimming' and 'Cry’ were characterised by an almost subaqueous murkiness, subsequent releases have presented a sharper, more lush sound. Written while living together during lockdown and recorded at the Belfast studio of their regular producer Chris Ryan, 2021’s Waves EP put NewDad on a map with a sound that extended from the swirling shoegaze of ‘I Don’t Recognise You’ to the tearstained dream-pop of ‘Blue’. 2022 follow-up, Banshee, fine-tuned that formula further, offering incandescent melodies wrapped in undulating waves of reverb. Produced once more by Chris Ryan, the EP featured additional mixing by John Congleton (St. Vincent, Phoebe Bridgers).
