Angels with Dirty Riffs

The last few weeks have proven to be something of a rollercoaster for Dublin rock band Angels of Mons, between releasing a debut album, getting glowing reviews in hotpress and playing sold-out gigs.

Their recent album launch saw those gathered inside the packed Sugar Club, including record company execs, very impressed indeed by a blistering showcase of their talent. One national radio broadcaster was even moved to start pompously quoting Bono to them. All in all, the future looks bright.
But where have they been hiding ‘til now? Having previously played in a band called Goldrush (famous in Churchtown, apparently), singer/guitarist Stephen and drummer Del had been jamming together for years, but it was only with the addition of bass player Neil that the band really set about defining their exciting mix of post-grunge guitars and pop-metal melodies.
As Stephen explains: “I had material written but it was only when the three of us got together that we got the ideal sound of the band. We knew we wanted a three piece and we wanted to play straight up rock. If you can’t do it with three men, then it’s probably not worth doing.”
“I’d been listening a lot to American bands like Pavement, Shellac, Pixies, Weezer, so that was the style I’d been writing in. What we didn’t want to be was retro. There’s a lot of bands out there just rehashing something else, we wanted to do something a bit more contemporary.”
Their name, culled from a history book, refers to an episode from the First World War when soldiers in the trenches believed they saw a vision from the heavens coming down from above. “We though it suited our own situation, descending onto the scene and what not.”
According to Neil it was no accident that they already had a decent debut in the bag before they started putting themselves out there. “I think we were influenced as much by the current environment as any music. I don’t like when you start hearing about a band, about how cool they look and everything, two years before they’ve even recorded something. Meanwhile we were just busy at work. Hype isn’t worth a bollocks if you haven’t the songs or the success to back it up.”
Working on this premise of ‘fuck everybody else’, they set about taking the DIY route becoming increasingly popular amongst Irish acts, deciding that they would finance and record their debut on their own rather than sending out countless demos and sitting around waiting for the record companies to respond. “Doing everything ourselves takes away from our studio time but it does bring a certain pride and satisfaction,” says Stephen.
“It’s the only thing to do really, I would recommend it to bands”, says Del. “ Just put your money where your mouth is and go and do it. If a band has quality people will come and listen to them. It doesn’t matter if there’s lots of shitty bands releasing records, because at least they’re doing something.”
Last of the Dead Empires, in part a tongue in cheek stab at the current Dublin scene, is a hard rockin’ melodic beast mixing up different rock styles while also showing the beginnings of their own distinct sound, and was produced by Garreth Mannix who has previously worked with The Thrills, Republic of Loose and The Chalets.
Not many bands can have a song called ‘Daria’ that’s designed to make you kick the shit out of your boss, ‘Sofia’ is full of spitting rage while the anthemic likes of ‘Highs and Lows’ and ‘Little by Little’ have instant pop hooks over chugging riffs.
But though they are a welcome addition to the Dublin music scene, they have no particular wish to be a part of it. So do the band think that the city’s rock’n’roll groups are beginning to wrest control back from the singer-songwriter fraternity?
Stephen takes the philosophical route, saying that both genres can co-exist in relatively peaceful harmony. “I respect the way they help each other out and play on each other’s records,” he muses, before adding “But they’re not playing on any of our records!”
Despite the quality of the album, it’s live that the group really come into their own.
Bands with only a few gigs under their belts aren’t supposed to have this much self-belief to burn and, crucially, the songs to back it up. The tall presence of Neil and Steve makes them hard to miss, and onstage the singer has something of both Josh Homme and Alex Kapranos about him, with Del providing the rock solid beats and some impressive harmonies.
Such was the reception at the launch, even the band’s cool facade seemed in danger of slipping. “Wow. Two weeks ago we were a bunch of shitheads. Look at us now!”, said Stephen at one point. So what for the future?
Though they say a few record companies are sniffing around the Angels are keeping their feet on the ground. “There’s a lot of talk but nobody’s given us anything yet. The record is just out so lets wait and see,” says Stephen.
“Loads of A&R people often ask for a picture before a copy of the record, so that’s why we couldn’t be arsed with a lot of that stuff. But we normally show them a pic anyway, one of Elton John or something”, says Neil. “Image probably would be important if we weren’t such pretty men anyway,” nods Del sagely.
“We don’t wanna go down the whole world domination route, so many bands get sucked into that hole,” smiles Stephen finally, although somehow you don’t quite believe him.