Red Moon Bayonets – Irish Band of the Week
It feels only right to make Red Moon Bayonets our Irish Band of the Week. In the run-up to the release of their third EP, Silent Companion, the Dublin foursome have clearly gone from strength to strength, continuing to offer their listeners a delightfully alluring mix of alternative rock, blues, and indie. We at Dublin Concerts have had a long-running love affair with their music since the release of their self-titled EP in Tower Records, a taster of possibilities that lay ahead of such a vibrant and melodic band as Red Moon Bayonets, being received extremely well by critics and audiences at lives gigs alike. This second EP was hotly anticipated, and our own Laur Ryan noted that they “had a lot to live up to, following the rather impressive reception of their debut self-titled EP in 2012. […] Needless to say, we were a little apprehensive that a second EP wouldn’t live up to the cut. And, we were so wrong about The Dark West.”
Admittedly, the attraction of the band is how their songs just work their way into your mind, residing with you long after you’ve stopped listening. There’s just this indescribable element to their style, as each track holds its own with a catchy beat and rhythm, trying to intertwine their own original indie sound with strands of a more jazzy-blues. The boys have been quick to note that their entire sound and their beautiful EPs have not so much been about trying to make noises as trying to create a unified piece of music with the respective stamp of individuality from each of the members, which is really evident when you listen to ‘A Silent Companion’. Recording at Westland Studios at the beginning of the year, the band celebrate the release of their third EP with the initial release of ‘Bayonets’, a dark, earthy blues track with these beautiful scintillating vocals that just seem to linger. The full EP will then be released on the 5th of May 2015 across all platforms, and what an EP it is. Its brilliance lies in the fact that Red Moon Bayonets created an EP that is tied together perfectly, each song compliments the other and it really marks the unique style the boys have. ‘Alive’ follows the same vein as ‘Bayonet’ but with a more murky sort of guitar sound in the background, it’s really interesting to come across such a darkly enchanting Irish band. However, they’re not a one trick pony, and this third EP really cements this fact with ‘Endure’ and ‘Our Last Breath’, these tracks are significantly lighter in sound but the emotive element of the lyrics remain consistent, with the former of the two more vocally charged. ‘Our Last Breath’ has a more gritty feel to it, stirring up this interesting mix between old school Kings of Leon and Black Keys, it’s really something that has to be listened to in order to be appreciated, because the band have managed to draw in all these influences and transform it into something else completely. So much so that one of their tracks is currently being pitched for use in three American primetime TV shows (please let it be The Walking Dead!)
If you can’t wait until the Yanks start broadcasting their wonderful sounds through your TV, then check them out at Canalaphonic festival, performing in my favourite of haunts, Blackbird, in Rathmines on the 8th of May.
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