Gurriers announce new bassist Charlie McCarthy – and share new single 'Des Goblin'

Coinciding with the release of a brand new single, 'Des Goblin', Gurriers have announced a line-up change – with Charlie McCarthy joining the band as their new bassist, replacing Emmet White, who has stepped down.

Charlie, who previously performed with Gurriers at festival shows in Germany and Poland last year, is known for his work as a member of Nerves, as well as playing with amy michelle and EFÉ.

Carving out their own noise-rock and shoegaze-informed sound, Gurriers released a string of lauded singles over the course of 2023, including 'Nausea', 'Sign Of The Times' and 'Approachable'. In addition to scoring a spot on Hot Press's 'Hot For 2024' list, the band have continued to make major international moves, with acclaimed shows across Europe, BBC Radio 1 airplay, praise from The Needle Drop’s Anthony Fantano, and major UK outlets dubbing them ‘Ireland’s next big thing.’

"We are all very proud of Emmet’s time with Gurriers and what he brought to us as a band and as people," Gurriers stated on social media today. "Emmet has been a fundamental part of Gurriers’ milestones, making memories that will stay with us all forever.

"Emmet remains an integral part of all of our lives and we all share a tremendous amount of respect, love and admiration for him, and we’d like to wish him all the best going forward with YARD and his other endeavours."

YARD – which Emmet has been a member of for several years – have also been tipped as one of Hot Press's 'Hot For 2024' Irish Acts, and performed at Eurosonic last month.

"We are very excited for you to welcome Charlie," Gurriers continued. "We’ve all been huge fans of Charlie and the various projects throughout the years and we can’t wait to get out playing gigs with him again and working on new music."

The band have also revealed that they'll be heading to Austin, Texas for this year's SXSW festival, taking place from March 11 to 16.

Reflecting on their new single, Gurriers' lead single Dan Hoff describes 'Des Goblin' as a song "about apathy and  self-obsession in the face of impending destruction, particularly to do with the effects of climate change and war and people being too obsessed with themselves and their online personas to be able to see the wood for the trees."

"Musically we pulled from further afield than previously, and really leaned in on our dance influences as well as a more fluent spoken word style vocal," he adds.

Watch the video for 'Des Goblin', directed by Gurriers' Ben O'Neill, below:

Gurriers live:

17/02/24 – Best Of 2024, Lille, FR
18/02/24 – L’Aeronet, Lille, FR
22/02/24 – 3 Olympia Theatre, Dublin – Mother Mother support
23/02/24 – 3 Olympia Theatre, Dublin – Mother Mother support
24/02/24 – Simple Things Festival, Bristol, UK
12/03/24 – SXSW, Austin, US
13/03/24 - SXSW, Austin, US
14/03/24 - SXSW, Austin, US
15/03/24 - SXSW, Austin, US
24/03/24 - Imagine Festival, Belfast - with Enola Gay
05/05/24 – In Vedres Naam, Burgerweeshuis, Deventer, NL
18/05/24 – Orange Blossom Special Festival, Beverungen, DE
24/05/24 - The Blue Basement at Third Man Records, London, UK
31/08/24 – Manchester Psych Fest, Manchester, UK

Read our 2023 interview with Gurriers here.