Doom folk group ØXN played not only their first ever headline show, but their first ever gig in the Everyman Palace Cork on Thursday October 26th.  An unexpecting crowd was wowed by a powerful wall of sound at the intimate debut gig. ØXN's debut album CYRM was released Friday October 27th.

In a gig that felt like a home coming rather than a nervous debut, an audience member could be forgiven for thinking ØXN were well established veterans of live music. This is partly true, since ØXN's inception was originally what began as a side project between Lankum's Radie Peat and Katie Kim in 2018. The duo were eventually joined by John ‘Spud’ Murphy and Eleanor Myler during the pandemic.

 

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'We're incredibly nervous', Peat admits into the microphone. The audience cheers. Clearly, the listeners are confident that they are in for a treat.

In a gig that ultimately served as a delicious album launch party, listeners were faced with sombre traditional folk songs, heavy with meaning and bass. The band sat in a U-shape format, with no clear frontperson or bandleader. The set up lent itself to an intimate gig, using modern synthesisers, but also felt like a trad session around a fire.

ØXN at the Everyman Theatre October 26th. Copyright Trevor McGrath.

A particular highlight was a rendition of Billie Eilish's 'Happier Than Ever' which Peat described as a 'half joke song'. The audience however, relished in the electric folk crescendo that the cover proved to be.

Another staple of the Irish music scene, Maija Sofia, was sitting among audience members in the Everyman, and her presence did not go unnoticed - Radie Peat gave her shoutout, after playing a cover of one of Maija Sofia's songs.

'Cruel Mother', a traditional folk music staple and lead single off of ØXN's debut album CYRM was treated with the sombreness and eerie understanding the melody deserves. An old folk tale, with a totally fresh and dark interpretation.

The band's own original ballad 'Love Henry', received an uproarious response, as the choice of the group's encore. 'We're going to do an encore but we're not going to leave the stage'

'It's really hard to get off and back on this stage' Katie Kim jokes. There's a refreshing and easy confidence about a band that doesn't make an audience beg for more. They know it will be well received.

While Thursday night at The Everyman Palace marked the first gig for ØXN, it certainly won't be the last.