Live Report: NewDad infuse Button Factory with their effortless indie rock

Often, it's a very desirable thing to be born 'in the wrong generation' and while I saw healthy turn out of vintage clothing and film cameras at The Button Factory last night, I couldn't help but feel Galway alternative indie rockers NewDad are exactly where they are meant to be.

The Button Factory gig was populated by early 20 somethings with mullets, moustaches, and flannel t shirts, and people who all seemed like they'd be horrified if you couldn't tell the difference between dream pop and shoegaze.

Setting the scene for NewDad was Dublin indie rocker Daire Heffernan, who set the scene with own form of rock dream pop mix.

Daire Heffernan supporting NewDad at The Button Factory 28/02/2024

The  four piece Shoegaze outfit offers the best of My Bloody Valentine, The Cocteau Twins and Slowdive have just released their debut offering Madra which was given a smashing 9/10 by Hot Press which they performed to ruptous applause on Monday night.

An early highlight with a gritty guitar line and apathetic vocals, was new dad's performance of 'Slowly' a track from their 2021 EP Waves which wooed the crowd.

Another track from the same EP - 'I Don't Recognise' got the audience swaying, and filled me listeners with a romantic of coming nostalgia.

The band also took on a beloved track from The Cure's repertoire- 'Just Like Heaven' and did sonic justice to the dreamy soundscape of the 1987 track.

The Button Factory filled with the joyous romanticism of The Cure, but it was still imbued with a healthy sense of NewDad- that delicious balance of when a band performs a cover of a well known track but still keeps it in their artistic universe.

Julie Dawson's vocals massively enriched the show, along with the dextrous bass plucking and guitar playing of NewDad.

Dawson however has this enigmatic ability to sing softly yet still hold the spotlight on tracks that are laden with heavy bass, head banging drums and catchy guitar lines.

At no point were Dawson's vocals challenged by the group's noise scapes.

NewDad at The Button Factory 28/02/2024

However it wasn't just oldies that pleased the Button Factory crowd with new tracks such a 'Sickly Sweet' and 'White Ribbons' from the new album proving to be smash hits.

'Sickly Sweet' particularly had a slightly gothic undertone that wouldn't have been out of place in a Twilight soundtrack, with its sinister romantic vibe and grungy guitar line.

However, 'White Ribbons' on the other hand had none of this adolescent gothicism, and instead had a sincere and charming sound. Something that was embracingly intimate in the Button Factory venue.

NewDad at The Button Factory 28/02/2024

Fiachra Parslow, NewDad's percussion section was rather unfortunately confined by a plexiglass divider in front of his drum kit, a prison he only managed to break out of for the encore, which was a simple rendition of 'White Ribbons', featuring only two band members- Parslow on Bodhrán and lead singer Julie Dawson.

Overall, NewDad's Button Factory felt like an ultimate 'before they were cool' gig, where everyone was confident that this time next year the Galway indie rockers would be headed for meteoric heights, maybe international recognition in the form of a Mercury Prize, so that everyone who was there could say "NewDad? Oh yeah I saw them in the Button Factory before they were cool'".