- Music
- 16 Oct 25
NewDad: "To be able to tour in a place off the back of a viral image is fucking crazy”
Fresh from the release of their new album Altar, NewDad sit down to discuss identity, first holy communions, their “totally random” success in China, and flying the flag for Galway on the Coachella ‘26 line-up…
It’s been the guts of two years since I last sat down with NewDad, in this very same room on South Great George’s Street, to discuss the imminent release of their debut album, Madra. Comparing their anticipation levels to a 99 (“The excitement would be the ice-cream, and the nervousness would be the flake”), and wondering aloud whether Irish people were “going to think it’s a bit weird that we’re just calling the album ‘Dog’,” the young band exuded a fresh, giddy enthusiasm, and a genuine chemistry that clearly stretched back to their shared schooldays in Galway.
They had little way of knowing then, of course, just how transformative the subsequent months would be.
Garnering millions of streams, Madra ultimately took NewDad across Asia, North America, Europe and the UK, as their international following grew rapidly – most notably in China, where the album artwork went viral, and inspired fans to share their own interpretations online. Madra even scored praise from Robert Smith of The Cure, and helped the band secure support slots for other long-time heroes like Pixies and Johnny Marr.
Before the year was out, NewDad also found time to contribute a track, ‘Under My Skin’, to the hugely popular Life Is Strange: Double Exposure video game, while frontwoman Julie Dawson explored exciting new sides of her artistry on her genre-bending solo effort, Bottom Of The Pool.
But some major adjustments had to accompany all that success and motion – and following the departure of bassist Cara Joshi back in March, NewDad reconfigured as a trio, made up of Julie, guitarist Sean O’Dowd, and drummer Fiachra Parslow. Influenced by their experiences of the music industry, and the harsh pace of life in London, their new album Altar finds the band in a reflective state – but at the same time, more confident and direct in their approach than ever.
“We’ve definitely become more pop-leaning,” Julie tells me now. “Pop is back in such a big way. We’re obviously not trying to become another Abba, or anything like that – but we wanted to make music that had a wide reach.”
They unlocked that bold sonic world with the help of a new producer, Shrink, aka Sam Breathwick.
“He really brought a lot to the NewDad sound,” says Julie. “If we’re in the studio, recording literally anything, I’ll always be like, ‘Please, can you turn the reverb up on that?’ And he would just go, ‘No!’
“So he definitely pushed us,” she continues. “Say with a song like ‘Entertainer’ – had that been a washy song, it would not be as impactful as it is.”
The theme of homesickness – in its many twisting forms – features heavily across the album. But as the band imply on ‘Mr Cold Embrace’, homesickness can be further complicated when the country you love doesn’t always seem to love you back.
“It’s very true,” Julie nods. “I love Ireland – but when you put it under a microscope, there’s a lot very wrong with this place.
“So it’s confusing,” she continues. “But still, when you compare it to London, it feels like a fairytale – even with all the shit bits. Travelling around, and then living in London for a long time, really does make you appreciate coming from somewhere like Ireland.”
Those reflections on Irish identity – and Irish Catholic upbringings – have come especially to the fore since NewDad relocated to London.
“Everyone says it – when an Irish person moves to London, they become 150 times more Irish,” Julie remarks. “It’s because you’re meeting other people, and talking about your upbringing. And people are like, ‘That’s so interesting that you went to a Jesuit school and were raised Catholic...’ All this stuff that you hadn’t really considered as being not totally normal.
“Like, communions are fucking weird – we’re like little tiny brides!” she points out. “But also, I fucking loved my communion. I’ll never be that rich again! And I just love religious imagery. But it is so interconnected with most Irish people’s existence. Catholic guilt really is a thing – just feeling so guilty about everything. I’ve felt that, moving away from home.”
But with pubs full of young Londoners downing pints of Guinness, and lapping up the work of loudly and proudly Irish bands, Julie acknowledges that it’s a funny time to be Irish in the English capital.
“They fucking love it!” she laughs, before channelling her inner wizened old Irish woman. “It wasn’t so cool a few years ago, I’ll tell you that – for the past few hundred years it wasn’t so cool…
“It is a bit weird,” she resumes. “There’s this funny obsession with Irishness, and this idea that Irish people are all so delighted, and fucking dancing and jumping around. But obviously the reality is that it is really hard for people over here at the moment. It’s just funny seeing things that are normal being cool now.”

Credit: Peter Eason Daniels
Still, NewDad are regularly included in conversations about this unstoppable wave of Irish talent currently making itself heard across the UK and beyond – something Julie admits she needs “to stop being so surprised” by.
“If we’re even mentioned in the same breath as all these other incredible Irish acts, I just feel so grateful,” she says. “There really is a strong sense of community. It doesn’t feel like it’s a competition. We might not see people for months, but every time you do see them, it’s just the same. You really support each other.
“It’s incredible to see so many people, with so much talent, come from such a tiny place,” she continues. “To see people doing so well, and selling out these insane shows, you’re just like, ‘Fair fucks!’ It’s inspiring.”
NewDad are also one of the three confirmed acts who’ll be flying the flag for Ireland at the iconic Coachella festival in April 2026, alongside CMAT and DJ/producer Kettama.
“And two are from Galway – us and Kettama!” Julie points out. “I just think that’s so funny. It would be more normal to me if it was three Dubs or something. But the fact that there’s going to be two acts who went to school around the corner from each other, in Galway, is mad.”
Between massive announcements like that, and their phenomenal success in China, Julie and Sean admit that life as NewDad is “still pretty surreal”.
“Even 20 years ago – how would you have got your music there?” Sean says of their growing Chinese fanbase. “It’s still such a new thing that you can put it out, and it can reach there, almost randomly.”
“Which it did – it was just totally random,” Julie nods. “It was the album artwork. To be able to tour in a place off the back of a viral image is fucking crazy. It’s mad over there, when you can’t speak the language, and there’s all these people singing the words back to you. You’re like, ‘What the hell…?’”
“We really didn’t think the first album would have so much reach, and hit so many people in so many ways,” Sean concludes. “So who knows where this is going to go…”
Altar is out now. NewDad’s upcoming tour dates include: 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin (October 31); Cyprus Avenue, Cork (November 1); Leisureland, Galway (2); and Mandela Hall, Belfast (4).
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