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NewDad: Madra review – unfiltered songcraft in a dreamy yet spiky debut
From Pixies to Garbage, New Order to Wolf Alice, you can clearly detect the Galway four-piece’s influences – but lyrics about shame and self-doubt make this an affecting album
NewDad singer Julia Dawson seems to be at the point in a young musician’s life where songs are written without filter, without the fear of whether it’s OK to broadcast innermost thoughts to a wider world. With themes from shame and self-doubt through bullying, mental-health issues, self-harm and general dysfunction, Dawson’s dreamlike ghostly vocals sweeten the anguish in lines such as Angel’s “You’re sweet, I’m sick / I hurt myself for kicks” or In My Head’s bleakly frank “I’m buried under blankets, descending into madness”. The band’s wash of guitars and vocals tap into the renewed interest in shoegaze while also channelling Pixies/Breeders grungy pop and mournful Cure/New Order basslines; their youthful energy and production gloss gives 30-year-old sounds and styles a more contemporary reboot.
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