Following the release of their acclaimed second album Mind Yourself last Friday, The Scratch have debuted at No.3 on the Official Irish Albums Chart.

"Their second album sees them soar to new heights," Edwin McFee wrote in his review of the album for Hot Press. "Produced by James Vincent McMorrow and forged in Dundalk, the Good Ship Scratch sail into proggier pastures on Mind Yourself. Indeed, it’s a labyrinthine LP crammed with hypnotic hymns (‘Trom II (A Slip In The Wind)’); confessional lyrics (‘Shoes’); and cap tips to Horslips (‘Cheeky Bastard’)."

In a recent interview with Hot Press, the Irish band spoke about the creation of the album.

“There was a lot of fear about changing so much,” Lango (vocalist and cajon player Daniel Lang) said. “And one of the many great things that James brought to the table was, ‘You can do what you fucking want’. We’re very proud of it now and also excited about writing going forward.”

“This album is transitional for us,” added guitarist Conor 'Dock' Dockery, “in terms of going from a more acoustic-based, Irish-leaning metal background. This is sonically heavier. A lot of the album was unfinished going in, which was a first for us.

“We knew we wanted to evolve sonically. We wanted to explore that Wall of Sound you were talking about, we wanted to explore how far we could push the instruments, how far we could push the guitars through the amps. But how were we going to do that? The set-up lent itself to figuring that out in real time.”

This week also saw The Scratch play an epic two-night run at Vicar Street in Dublin.

The Scratch at Vicar Street. November 8th, 2023. Copyright Piper Sewell.

The No.1 and No.2 spots on the chart are once again occupied this week by Taylor Swift's 1989 (Taylor's Version) and Olivia Rodrigo's Guts, respectively.

Swift also claims three positions in the Top 10 over on the Official Irish Singles Chart - with 'Is It Over Now (Taylor's Version)' at No.2, 'Now That We Don't Talk (Taylor's Version)' at No.4, and 'Slut (Taylor's Version)' at No.6.