This “manically beautiful” prog outfit from Limerick are heavily inspired by their home town. “A lot is happening: Iron Mountain, Slow Riot, Windings and Rosangano Family,” enthuses drummer Brendan Miller.
Having worked together in a previous band, Miller, James Griffin and Dave Tobin decided to collaborate on a new project. With Brian Fitzgerald joining on bass, Zombie Picnic was born.
The band’s name was a working one at first, but having realised how much it suited their sound, they ultimately decided to stick with it. In the best quiet/loud tradition of Nirvana, Pixies, Mogwai and Slint, Zombie Picnic alternate between chilled serenity and skull-crushing heaviness. The group’s sound has been refined over four years: having served their apprenticeship as a support act, they eventually graduated to headlining their own shows at Dolan’s in Limerick.
“We try and turn our shows into a theatre pieces,” Miller explains. “We play monologues from movies over the instrumentals. It adds texture.”
They recorded debut album A Suburb Of Earth in two days. “We played it essentially live,” says Miller. “We wanted to recreate our practice space because that’s where we’re comfortable. The whole thing was an experiment – and it seemed to work.”
See: Zombie Picnic’s album launch is at Dolan’s in Limerick May 20.
Hear: ‘A Suburb Of Earth’ will be available on Bandcamp and iTunes.