Spearside “Not Up to Much”
“Not Up to Much” finds 90s garage rock mixed with the disobedient, upbeat but cynical, disillusioned punk attitude. Spearside’s lushly noise-coiled soundscape easily evokes a sense of belonging. “Not Up to Much” touches on nostalgia though the song itself doesn’t dwell in the past. Old and new feelings exist in conflict with one another, engaging in an end-of-the-world carnival-style dance party— the vibe is quite unusual in “Not Up to Much.” Nothing like what you’ve heard in a while.
The track talks about a person who revels in their descent into nihilism with a sensuous, scenic undertone in the soundscape, throwing a atmospheric, drastic draw of complex feelings in mixture. Sharp-edged and raw, however, like an expressionist painting, it’s these unsorted, raw, exposed nerves and emotions one has to savor. Spearside’s music is definitely something you can put on repeat, just to disappear in, or to ponder upon, or to feel. The Irish three-piece rock outfit manages to evoke a very interesting combination of experiences through one single song.
Lead by brothers Oisín (vocals/guitar) and Cian Walsh (vocals/bass), along with their friend Dylan Zovich (drums), Spearside is fiercely on the rising. Their dynamically fuzzy sound draws comparisons to The Stains and Magazine. From March through July, the band will be playing live around Dublin and London. If you’re in the area, don’t forget to check out their shows! Mark the dates:
Sat 11 March-DUBLIN, Whelan’s (Upstairs)
Fri 17 March-DUBLIN, Whelan’s (Main Room) St Patrick’s Day Festival
Wed 12 April-LONDON, Dream Bags Jaguar Shoes with Bag Of Cans
Sun 23 July LONDON, The Finsbury, Pump It Up Power Pop Weekender 22-23 July
Check out our interview with frontman Oisin Walsh where we chat about their influences and the time they built a home studio in rural Ireland.
Punk Head: I love how authentic “Not Up To Much” is. What inspired the song?
Oisín Walsh: The musical inspiration for “Not Up to Much” was a blend of The Byrds, Badfinger, and The Saints. I'm also a big Brendan Benson fan, who definitely had a big influence on this song. He has a lot of songs that are quite up beat musically but have darker lyrics in contrast, I've always loved that.
When the musical backdrop is major key and up-beat, it can offer some extra license to explore darker lyrics without the song feeling too laborious. “Not Up to Much” is about someone revelling in their descent into nihilism.
The character in the lyrics takes the tragedy of their life, their apathy, their social isolation, and uses it as an excuse to give up, blame others, and crack a wry smile while they do it.
PH: I read that you guys built a home studio in rural Ireland and this song is recorded entirely in your home studio. Can you tell us a bit more about that experience?
Walsh: We've only ever recorded our own music, we've never been in a proper studio. I've always been somewhat of a wannabe DIY producer. During the covid lockdowns I just started hoarding recording gear, got a reel to reel tape machine and tried to take producing seriously. In my experience the best way to learn is to schedule a release of music you've self-produced and just force yourself to figure it out. I record a lot of my friends' bands too like Unstuck, I track and mix all their stuff in our studio.
PH: What is your creative vision as a band?
Walsh: We would love to be a band that sounds like everything and nothing you've heard before. The challenge is to make music that is rooted in the rock n roll tradition without sounding pastiche or retro, our favourite bands have always managed this. I think true creativity comes from walking the line between utility and novelty, familiarity and freshness.
PH: What’s your goal this year?
Walsh: Our main goal this year is to keep recording and releasing new music. We also hope to play more shows, particularly outside Ireland. We've got some dates in London coming up which will be the first time we've played abroad so we're really exited for those.
PH: What is the one thing that you’d like your fans to know about you?
Walsh: When we're not playing music we're probably playing golf.
