Big Sleep’s debut album “Holy Show” is anything but a mess

Interview by Amanda Flynn

When my friends and I first figured out that a trip to Ireland was in the cards for us this January, my immediate thought was of Big Sleep, a Dublin based indie-alternative band. I have been a fan of this band for a while and hoped to catch up with the group while we were there. Luckily, they were available the day our flight arrived, so about five hours after we landed we headed to Metro Cafe to meet up with two of the members, Rónán Connolly (vocals/guitar) and Naiara Clarke LaFuente (lead guitar). Slightly sleep deprived and delirious, we ended up having a wonderful chat with the band all about the Dublin music scene, memorable moments as a group, their debut album, Holy Show, and more! 

PHOTOS BY LINDSEY DADOURIAN

PLEASER: I feel like the Dublin music scene is just exploding. How would you say the music scene has influenced the band or even the new album? 

Naiara Clarke LaFuente: It’s just so inspiring, in a way. I suppose it’s all around us all the time. All of our friends are doing it. All of our friends are creating incredible art and doing amazing things, and it creates an atmosphere, an excitement and a buzz that makes you want to get involved…It really does feel like a culture or a community.

Rónán Connolly: I think a bonus of it, I mean, it’s such a small community and Dublin is a pretty small city, but I think the standard of music is really high. I think we hold our own pretty well internationally. One of the cool things about [the Irish music scene] is there’s lots of great bands all over the country. There’s a desire to have your own kind of print and people want to be original and express themselves…Despite the different genres, groups and artists stick together. I think in a sense we all rub off each other and get inspired by genres that personally you wouldn’t have considered or ways of writing or performing.

PLEASER: It’s been four years as a band. Was there any differences in the process of putting out singles or EPs versus then coming together to make a debut album? What was that like? 

RC: It was a great experience to learn something new from every time we shared something and every time we made something, and I think that it all kind of fed into the album. Back in the day we were doing EPs because we had five songs written, so we put out those five songs. It kind of developed when we did the album, let's write more than that…pick a batch and whittle them down to the few we really resonate with.

NCL: It was definitely a learning curve. [We] tried not to think about it too deeply or plan too much…We tried to make it as fun and interesting as possible and just tried to get songs down. It was really fun. We got to go to the UK and live with our producer for two weeks in the same room in bunk beds and it was this bonding experience.

PLEASER: How would you “pitch” your debut album, Holy Show, or what people might be able to expect? What’s the story or sound listeners can look forward to experiencing?

RC: We picked the name [Holy Show] for the album because we feel it sums up the songs and the subject matter in them. “Holy Show” is an Irish slang for a messy situation when somebody makes a fool of themselves, or you’re in some kind of embarrassment or maybe emotional chaos. For us, every song is its own kind of holy show, informed by either an experience of love or loss, and kind of everything in between…People are describing it as bright. I think it has some dark undertones as well.

NCL: For me, I think it’s quite dreamy. It has an almost VHS, dream-like quality to it…It lingers around a lot of themes regarding gaining and losing love and the transience of that everlasting process, I suppose. It follows a lot of interesting characters, often quite desperate or manic characters that are either again gaining or losing love. It’s got kind of garage rock influences, indie influences, but also Mac DeMarco or Big Thief influences.

PLEASER: While creating Holy Show, was there any sort of artists, imagery or mood boards the band was leaning into while making it? Where was your headspace at? (Cover art by @marta_blue) 

RC: When we found the album cover, after digging around for a long time, it just stood out to us. [Our friends] Alec Delaney and Eoin Byrne actually helped us find it. We were just kind of taken aback by the cover. We didn’t really know what to make of it. [The cover] kind of divided the group as well and people in terms of our feelings on it, whether it was the right one. I think it was kind of a good thing. I think if something is a good album cover it’ll kind of split the room. If it’s good art you don’t want to play it too safe. When we were coming up with the ideas for the single art, a theme developed of anatomy and that kind of came into play. We had the face as the centerpiece of all the art. If you look back through [the singles] you see that we chose parts of anatomy that linked to song lyrics…We worked with a great graphic designer called Yosef Phelan.

PLEASER: Can you share your favourite track from Holy Show or one you’re most excited to play live?

NCL: I think collectively we would all agree that “Crude” is a standout, not just for the album but maybe for us as a band, for our music so far. It’s definitely one of my favourites to play live. I really look forward to [playing it] because it’s such a slow burner and it’s kind of a journey. I’m also really excited for “Top of the Pops” to come out, which is a track on the album that’s one of my favourites. It definitely encapsulates the dreaminess and I’m just really excited for that one. It’s not a typical single or something we’ve ever done as a band before.

RC: I second “Crude,” the whole band really liked that one. I think the way it came about was really natural and kind of started after we took a break from writing, and we were actually over in Italy where Matteo is from…We just felt very lucky to be over there in Italy and we just started writing it and it came about very naturally… I have a hunch that it will probably influence where we go moving forward as a band… Another one for me is probably the last song on the album, “Old Friend.” 

PLEASER: Are there any particularly memorable live moments you’ve had as a band so far?

RC: There’s been a few gigs where we really noticed everybody singing back at us, and maybe it was because we got some kind of crappy in-ear monitors off Amazon, and that’s why we could hear them more. But also, I think it’s because the rooms were bigger and the crowds are resonating with the songs more, and they’re just loud, it’s such an indescribable feeling. Stuff we made in a room with the four of us and just made for fun, not really thinking too much about what would come of it…and then there’s a bunch of people who are coming out to the shows and want to sing it at our faces, even though we’re supposed to be singing at their faces, and that’s pretty special.

PLEASER: Along with the debut album release, what are some goals for Big Sleep or things fans can look forward to this year? 

RC: We always talk about keeping the party going and having a very good time doing this. We want to make sure we’re in the process of making music all the time and playing gigs all the time…We’re just kind of excited to see new cities and explore them for music.

PLEASER: If you could give one piece of advice to up-and-coming bands to break out of their local scene, what advice would you give? 

NCL: Don’t wait for anything to happen. You do have to just go out and get to know people who are doing it…Put on your own gigs and keep doing that. If nobody turns up, you just put on another gig…but also go to gigs and meet people, make friends and get involved. Immerse yourself in the scene and then things will just happen.

RC: I would say write good songs. I would also say nobody knows what they’re doing. So anybody who seems like they’ve got it all figured out is just making it up as they go along. Maybe if you’re an outsider wanting to get involved in the community or the scene, you might assume that everybody’s just got it all figured out, but honestly they’re just figuring it out as they go.

PLEASER: Any final thoughts you’d like to add? 

NCL: Listen to music. Listen to Holy Show. Be a nice person.

RC: Be good to yourself. Be good to other people. Just have a good day.