Lemoncello shared new single and video ‘Articulate Animal’, the album’s opening track, following earlier single ‘Meet Me Halfway’.
Dublin duo Lemoncello – Laura Quirke and Claire Kinsella – have announced their second album Perfect Place, out May 8th via Claddagh Records.
Perfect Place was co-produced by Ruth O’Mahony Brady (Lisa O’Neill, Gorillaz) at her studio in Cabinteely and marks a confident step forward from their critically acclaimed 2024 debut.
Where that record was rooted in folk, this one weaves in synths and electronic percussion without losing the organic core of what they do. The album began with a residency in late 2023 in a cabin overlooking the Skellig Islands, followed by a year of exchanging voice notes and demos before bringing the material into the studio.
‘Articulate Animal’ is a good indicator of the direction, it opens with solo voice over a cello drone, originating from a five-minute creative writing exercise designed to bypass the critical mind entirely.
The central line that emerged, “Wish I could stop telling myself things,” forms the core of the song before Kinsella’s production layers in electronic percussion, synths and cellos alongside Cormac Begley on concertina, and Joe Doyle and Lorcan Byrne on bass and drums.
“We decided the solo vocal line coming seemingly out of nowhere over a drone would be a good song to start the album. A manifestation of shedding layers to get to the heart of things.”
Watch the video by Saoirse Johnston Gaffey:
The album addresses both personal and collective territory, the way external pressures seep into intimate relationships and the difficulty of navigating an increasingly unstable world. Quirke describes a deliberate move away from hiding behind “flowery language” toward something more direct and vulnerable.
Says Quirke: “In the past I think I’ve abandoned songs a little bit too soon. I hid behind flowery language instead of getting to the heart of the thing. With this album we wanted to express things that are difficult and messy. Sometimes to be clear emotionally you need to be abstract lyrically but you can’t be afraid to take everything off and just stand there completely vulnerable.”
Perfect Place is out May 8th 2026 via Claddagh Records.
Tour Dates
- Thu 26 March – Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny, IE (Ye Vagabonds support)
- Fri 27 March – Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny, IE (Ye Vagabonds support)
- Sat 28 March – Dolan’s, Limerick, IE (Ye Vagabonds support)
- Sun 29 March – Dolan’s, Limerick, IE (Ye Vagabonds support)
- Fri 8 May – The Jacaranda, Liverpool, UK (Album Launch Headline Show)
- Tue 12 May – Theatreship, London, UK (Album Launch Headline Show)
- 29–31 May – Night & Day Festival, Roscommon, IE
- 24–26 July – Deer Shed Festival, UK
- 23–26 July – WOMAD Festival, UK
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
