The Irish indie group, NewDad, have announced two Irish headline gigs - one in Galway's Roisin Dubh, and one in Dublin's Button Factory - as well as their debut LP, titled Madra.

Following two EPs and multiple singles, the London-based band have grafted since their first release in 2020, to get to the stage of releasing their first full length offering.

For Julie Dawson, NewDad singer/guitarist, music has always served as a safe haven for articulating what she struggles to express elsewhere, a place where she can explore her deepest emotions without compromise.

In recent single, 'In My Head' Dawson croons: “I'm buried under blankets/Descending into madness/And there's no escape from the thoughts burned in my brain,” cocooned within Sean O’Dowd’s gauzy guitar textures. More encapsulating in its scope than previous releases, the song swept in the start of an ambitious new era for the Irish four-piece. That era is ultimately realised on Madra, NewDad’s hotly-anticipated debut releasing via Atlantic Records.

Madra was produced by long-time collaborator Chris Ryan (Just Mustard, Arborist) at Rockfield Studios – with additional sessions at RAK Studios. An album characterised by intoxicating, festival-ready melodies spanning dream-pop, post-punk and shoegaze, the forthcoming LP openly examines her predilection for shame, guilt and self-sabotage – and how that ultimately impacts the people surrounding her. Madra is testament to Dawson’s vast creative growth.

Dawson formed NewDad as part of a final year music project, recruiting classmates Áindle O’Beirn on bass and Fiachra Parslow on drums. After consulting a random band name generator for their moniker, NewDad was officially born, with O’Dowd joining in early 2020, and bassist Cara Joshi later taking over from O’Beirn in 2022.

Collectively, the band’s key musical touch points include The Cure circa Seventeen Seconds and Doolittle-era Pixies, alongside the work of Wolf Alice, Men I Trust, Sorry, Beabadoobee, and Dundalk-outfit Just Mustard. For NewDad, watching the success of the latter proved particularly influential in helping them widen their attainable hopes and dreams.

“Seeing a small Irish band making amazing music without compromise go on to support The Cure was such a big moment for us,” Dawson recalls. “We were like, maybe we actually could do this?”

Since self-releasing debut single ‘How’ in 2020, NewDad have climbed the ranks, releasing two acclaimed EPs, opening for Inhaler and Wet Leg at Fairview Park, and playing arenas with Paolo Nutini. And as their audience has grown, so too has the scope of their ambition.

“People come to us and they're like, your songs have really helped me through a tough time,” Dawson explains, proudly. “I love that we can do that for people, and that we can instil them with confidence, just like my favourite songwriters have always done for me.”

Despite the dark themes and lyrics of the upcoming release, there are shimmers of light in Madra, with Dawson putting her emotions, insecurities, and more into the music. The forthcoming LP offers listeners an opportunity to cleanse themselves of painful emotions by transforming that struggle into something transcendent.

“I want people to listen and relate and feel like it can help them,” the singer smiles. “Because, honestly, it’s helped me a lot.”

Tickets for NewDad's upcoming Galway and Dublin shows are on sale Friday, September 22 at 10am through singular artists - here!