Today marks a string of exciting announcement for recent New Claddagh record signees Lemoncello.

The folk duo have today announced that their eponymous debut album Lemoncello will be released on Friday May 3 2024. The album announcement comes as Laura Quirke and Claire Kinsella share their new single ‘Old Friend’ today, alongside a music video directed by Quirke.

The music video takes inspiration from the band's stunning album artwork- an eye-catching burnt orange portrait of the two musicians.

Director Laura Quirke says of the video that: “We wanted to create a simple and striking visual to represent the feeling of the song in a genuine way, without being overly sentimental. We ditched dancing and opted for a five-minute long hug instead - a subtle yet straight-forward reflection of the song's meaning"

"The video was also in its own way a contemporary art experiment as we had to stand in a hug for 9 hours of the day to film it - with breaks only to check the smell of our armpits. The video starts abstractly, the close-ups on bodies and light both intimate and mysterious, creating an abstract, warm, human kaleidoscope, only revealing two bodies embracing at the end.”

debut album Lemoncello

Lyrically, ‘Old Friend’ asks what kind of conversations we would have with those closest to us if we talked to them as if we’d never met them before. If we acted as if it was the first time we were ever talking, what would we ask them?

The song acknowledges that weird thing that happens when the people we hold closest and dearest become the people we are coldest around and plainly challenges the contempt that can be bred by familiarity."‘My mother helped me up / And I barely even noticed ... But a stranger helps me up / And I send her flowers".

Fans of Lemoncello will recognise previous releases that will feature on the group's debut, namely the hypnotic and slightly sinister tracks 'Michael Furey' and 'Harsh Truths'

Lemoncello's production at Analogue Catalogue Studios saw the band both record and mix the album to 2 inch tape with producer Julie McLarnon at the helm.

McLarnon,in known for working on records by artists such as The Vaselines, Brigid Mae Power, Yorkston Thorne Khan, Lankum and Junior Brother.

Listen to Lemoncello's brand new single 'Old Friend':

Track Listing for Lemoncello 

1. Always Neighbours
2. Sunflower
3. Michael Furey (I’ve Had Lovers)
4. Mantlepiece
5. Harsh Truths
6. Dopamine
7. All The Good Men
8. Old Friend
9. My Lagan Love