Dublin six-piece Bold Love (formerly Big Love) release their six-track EP which feels like its arriving at the right time for the band, after four years of working on their craft, they are a band on the cusp.
The six songs produced by London-based Irish producer Richie Kennedy, encapsulate the best of what this indie pop band have on offer – heart on sleeve songwriting, yearning comfort (‘I’m Home’), a spinning guitar singalong opener (‘All The Lives’), introspection (‘Easy’), the earworm duet pop of ‘Feel You Close’ and the widescreen cinematic (‘That’s Where The Heart Is’).
“It’s about youth, love, death and a sense of place and belonging” says singer Cian Ó’Maonlaí. “It’s a reflection on navigating life up until now. This EP is our way of trying to deal with things. Life is mad and we’re just Dancing & Loving our way through it.”
Jack and Cian also shared a track-by-track for the EP with us.
1. All The Lives
‘All The Lives’ went through a few iterations before settling on this version. Adam brought this one into the studio. It was based around this great guitar riff he’d written. We workshopped this with Brian Casey down in Cork at a later date. It was a great experience, we’d never done that with our songwriting before.
It was Brian’s idea to split the guitar riff into two parts so you have that panned effect. It’s a fun one to play live. (Jack)
2. I’m Home
‘I’m Home’ is one of those songs that arrived fully formed. I brought it to the band with a pretty clear idea in mind but I didn’t really need to explain anything to them. They just all knew where to fit in and it felt finished that day. We tried to change it a few times but some songs refuse to be changed. They’re meant to be what they are and that’s it. It’s really sweet when the writing process works like that but it’s definitely not always the case.
The song was written from a point of frustration initially,I find living in the city can get on top of you and can be suffocating. The song came out on one of those days when things felt a bit too much. The remedy for when I’m feeling like that is to go to the West of Kerry so I decided to write a love song for that place. I wanted the song to feel like the relief of escape. (Cian)
3. Easy
This is one of our older songs we wrote when we still rehearsed in Yellow Door studios. I think half the bands in Dublin still do. Great spot with lovely baked goods left out by Jean.
‘Easy’ wasn’t easy to write. I remember Cian coming in one day saying he’d written lyrics for this uplifting song and that he’d like the music to match that feeling. We ended up doing the opposite and ended up with this kind of atonal sound that makes you think of liminal spaces. Feels kinda spooky, which I love.
We recorded this one with Matt Glasbey a while back and just wanted to give it a home on this EP. His work is amazing on it, from the pulsing synth line in the second verse, to the organic ambience in the outro. (Jack)
4. Feel You Close
‘Feel You Close’ is a personal favourite of mine. I remember messing around with a reverse delay pedal after a shower when I was writing this one, and it sounded a lot more trippy. Eventually things got polished off with the delays to give it that tight, punctuated sound. I think Dan’s bass work on this is fantastic too.
I love that Meg’s vocals really get to come through here and I’m a sucker for a duet. Really emphasises the story in the lyrics. It has a beautiful sentiment behind it too which Cian is great for putting into words.
We recorded this in Black Mountain studio with Richie and it was our first time working with him. He has this great method of really pulling a performance out of the band and I think that shines here. It’s a song that’s sombre and makes you sing, which is a great combination. (Jack)
5. That’s Where The Heart Is
I wrote ‘That’s Where The Heart is’ about being a bit of a bold young fella. In our teenage years myself and Jack and our group of friends were a bit mental. It was a lot of fun but looking back on it, I think a lot of what we were at was just a cry for help. It was for me anyway.
The song is a reflection on that time when it felt like we were always on the run from something. We were partying and smiling through it all but kind of falling apart at the same time.
The line ‘That’s Where The Heart Is’ refers to the solace we found in each other when things were chaotic all around us.
We collaborated heavily with our producer Richie on this one and he really helped us develop the song to where it is now. Unlike I’m Home this tune changed a few times but we’re delighted with where it eventually landed. It’s one of my favorite songs and it’s such a buzz to play live. (Cian)
6. The Streets Are Sleeping
This was the final song to go on the EP and it was written just before we recorded. It felt like the right way to end the record. I see it as a dream-like scene where I’m wandering through the city alone when the streets are empty and I can begin to appreciate the beauty in everything again. In ‘I’m Home’ I’m struggling with my relationship with Dublin but here I’m falling back in love.
I love this song. We recorded it with our long-time collaborator and friend Seán Sweeney and then sent a quite simple version over to Richie to work his magic on.
A few weeks ago we played it for the first time ever and everyone in the pub sang it back to us, that felt really special.
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.
