New To Hot Press: Hunkpapa

We like to think New To… is an opportunity to give Ireland a first look at the island’s best new acts. Unfortunately, with Hunkpapa, someone beat us to it: Gary Lightbody. He tweeted last September that the Armagh quartet have “melody for days, wonderful imagery (sometimes grimly comic) & fit to bursting with crackling energy.”

As for the band’s reaction when they found out the frontman of Snow Patrol liked their music? “I nearly shit myself,” laughs Weston Clendinnin. It’s that kind of humility, as some might call it, which makes Hunkpapa so alluring.

The down-to-earth frontman notes that all the band members quit their “conventional jobs” – Clendinnin worked in catering – to escape the humdrum environs of the young professional lifestyle. That’s what latest single ‘Cappuccino’ is about.

It’s the live shows, though, that truly allow them to liberate themselves and their audience. “Ultimately it’s a privilege and a gift to go out and play music,” Clendinning says. “We really cherish that and want to keep it going for as long as we can.”

• Hunkpapa play The Grand Social, Dublin on October 11 as well as Cyprus Avenue in Cork on October 10, Róisín Dubv in Galway on October 12, and Spirit Store in Dundalk on October 18. Tickets are available here. 

• Take a listen to 'Cappuccino' here: