Bitch Falcon’s Lizzie Fitzpatrick: "Girl Band changed the quality of music in the Irish rock scene completely"

Over the last five years, Bitch Falcon have carved out a unique space in Dublin’s thriving rock scene, with a vibrant fusion of grunge, shoegaze and hardcore. Building up a following off the back of their raucous live shows, the band found themselves selling out headliners – despite limited recorded output. As such, their long-awaited debut album, Staring At Clocks, is one of the most highly anticipated Irish releases of the year – a prospect that frontwoman Lizzie Fitzpatrick describes as being “exciting yet fairly daunting.”

“I’ve been so ready to put it out there,” she says. “I can’t wait to play these songs live and get the immediate response from the crowd.”

Staring At Clocks, which was mixed by Grammy-nominated engineer Alex Newport – famed for his work with At The Drive-In, Death Cab For Cutie and The Mars Volta – contains some of the finest songs Bitch Falcon have penned to date. ‘How Did I Know’ is a hard-hitting and starkly honest expression of the frustration of watching a loved one struggling with their demons, while ‘Test Trip’ links running away from home with manipulation in relationships.

“We got to a point where the writing just made more sense,” Lizzie reflects. “It sounded like we upped a level, and the lyrics followed. I wrote the lyrics during a bit of a rough patch, so some of the themes are a little heavy. I’d like people to take what they need from these songs, if it helps them in their own situation.”

Having played with the likes of Girl Band and Fontaines D.C., Bitch Falcon are well positioned, at the centre of the country’s ongoing rock revolution.

“Girl Band changed the quality of music in the Irish rock scene completely,” Lizzie posits. “And Fontaines D.C. changed the playing ground and brought a lot of eyes on Ireland – so really it’s a perfect mix to breed top rock acts.”

While the spotlight has largely been focused on the bands bringing the homegrown scene to the world stage, Lizzie is also quick to point out that there are other unsung heroes who deserve similar praise.

“The production of rock in Ireland needs to be championed more,” she says. “John ‘Spud’ Murphy and Daniel Fox are producing some really high quality recordings – not to mention Rian Trench and Robert Watson, who produced ours.”

Although Staring At Clocks is ripe for a live airing, the ongoing pandemic continues to play havoc with Bitch Falcon’s touring plans. In the meantime, however, Lizzie and the band are doing what they can to stay busy.

“We’re going to push the album, write some music and do some sessions – and wait for this to all blow over!”

• Staring At Clocks is out now.