Ronan Kealy has signed to Pete Doherty’s label Strap Originals after the Libertines singer saw him perform recently in Dublin.
Junior Brother’s wonky folk music project returns with news of a third album The End on September 5th.
A first single and video for ‘Small Violence’ is also released today, along with tour dates including an Irish tour in September to Nowember.
The song “addresses the growing influence of misinformation and the escalating wave of conspiracy-fueled hatred” and makes use of dissonance horror-style melodies in its folk-leaning construction. It is accompanied by a video by Ellius Grace and Junior Brother.
“Small Violence follows a character pulled in by a small few who enjoy using violent words to stoke real violence further down the line. The intro riff was heavily inspired by the Opening Titles of “The Blood on Satan’s Claw”, a Folk Horror from 1971 which I highly recommend to anyone except the sensible.”
Strap say: “We’re beyond excited to have this extraordinary Irish artist join our label. One of the most unique and powerful voices out there.”
Junior Brother says of the label: “I’m delighted to be bringing my record “The End” out on such a great label – I look forward to sharing the same roster as such favourites as Peter Doherty, Real Farmer, Warmduscher and loads more. Excitin’ times ahead!”
About The End album
The End is a deeply instinctive yet carefully considered response to the chaos of modern life, with Junior Brother weaving the recent years of upheaval into the eerie folklore of Fairy Forts. These ring-shaped earth mounds, scattered across the Irish countryside, are known to possess an energy that can bewilder, curse, or even lead the unwary astray. Stepping into one is to risk losing yourself—both physically and spiritually. To Junior Brother, this ancient folklore mirrors the disorienting reality of today’s world.
“The sound of the album is supposed to take the organic instruments of Irish traditional music and lift them somewhere else,” Junior Brother explains, “like the otherworldly Irish music sometimes heard from Fairy Forts at twilight on country roads, impossible to recreate upon hearing.” The End captures this essence, blending the raw textures of traditional Irish music with spectral, unearthly elements.
Much of the album’s inspiration was drawn from UCD’s Folklore Collection on duchas.ie, “I delved into the manuscripts—endless eyewitness accounts of Fairy Forts being stepped into and the land altering, the familiar mutating,” Junior Brother shares. “Farmers, teachers, the sober, the smart—all losing their way home one way or the other.” In these uncanny tales of displacement and confusion, he found striking parallels to the instability and distortion of contemporary life.
Thematically, The End explores forces that work against nature (New Road, Welcome to My Mountain), the rise of the far-right (Small Violence, Today My Uncle Told Me), and confrontations with mortality (Old Bell, Start Digging). Through the lens of rural Irish folklore, the album reflects the bewildering madness of the present moment.
“The title The End represents the moment after being led astray, when the grip of madness releases you and you suddenly see your way home,” says Junior Brother. “It may reflect the doom of a world gone mad, but it also represents the end of darkness, and the start of a new road.”
Junior Brother live EU / Irish / UK dates
April
25 BELGIUM, Sint Nikllas De Casino, Supporting Peter Doherty
26 PARIS, Le Trianon, Supporting Peter Doherty
May
14 BRIGHTON The Great Escape Strap Originals Stage
June
6 GLASGOW, Glad Cafe
7 STIRLING, The Tolbooth
8 SCOTLAND, Wasteland Festival
July
6 LIMAVADY Stendhal Festival NI
August
9 ANTRIM Under the Drum Festival NI
September
12 CORK The Pav Sounds From a Safe Harbour Festival Album Launch
13 DUBLIN Grand Social Club Album Launch
14 DUBLIN Grand Social Club Album Launch
20 LONDON South Bank Centre QE Hall with the Incredible String Band
21 DROGHEDA Vantastival Festival
October
10 TRALEE LASTA Festival Síamsa Tire
November
9 CLONAKILTY DeBarras Samhain Festival
14 GALWAY Róisín Dubh
15 LIMERICK Upstairs at Dolan’s Warehouse
21 DERRY Sandinos
22 BANGOR Open House Festival
23 DUNDALK Spirit Store
26 BIRMINGHAM The Victoria
27 LONDON Hootananny
28 LEEDS Hyde Park Book Club
29 MANCHESTER Gulliver’s
Tickets available at: https://www.juniorbrother.com/tour
