The Irish quintet have channelled their angst and anger at the world around them into one of the year’s most blistering yet quietly hopeful albums.
On the surface, the themes and lyrical ideas of Gurriers’ second album could easily be construed as nihilistic – ferociously so. It is titled Nobody’s Coming To Save You, after all, a manic, bottomless pit of despair-type statement that also bestows its name of the biting opening title track.
But the title isn’t meant to be hopeless, assures frontman Dan Hoff – rather, a “call to action”. We may be surrounded by a world “on the brink”, and that’s exactly why we should be hopeful, no?
Arguably the most important rock group to emerge from Dublin since Fontaines D.C., the Irish quintet has found a tidal wave of notoriety on the live circuit with their hurricane of a live set, and has had a rainbow of acclaim shining on their excellent 2024 debut, Come And See. But this sophomore album takes things into a whole other stratosphere of metaphor.
Produced between Dublin and London by Idles’ Mark Bowen and the man behind Geese’s breakthrough album 3D Country, Loren Humphrey, the album snaps, bellows and consumes, driven by fuzzy distortion, crashing percussion and quieter moments of subtlety. Hoff’s towering vocal performances are faultless, while his lyricism, drawing from ideas of solidarity and emotionality, challenges societal constrictions and political injustice without ever sounding preachy or pretentious.
With this outstanding sophomore album, Gurriers are confirmed as one of the most important and exciting new bands to emerge in the last few years. And Hoff is right up there with the best frontmen. Below, he delves into the record, looks ahead to their autumn tour, and tells us who he thinks is next up in Ireland.
Listen to Nobody’s Coming To Save You…
Read the interview…
Why have you named your sophomore album Nobody’s Coming To Save You?
We named the album Nobody’s Coming To Save You, because the world seems on the brink, it feels like a time of hopeless abandon from A.I., Genocide, wars and extreme poverty, i wanted to be optimistic though in my time writing this, we’re a privileged bunch of people to be creating music, we’re not trying to be preachy or tell you what to do, but we come at this more in a journalistic approach. The title isn’t meant to be hopeless but a call to action.
How did you find the process of making the sophomore album? Did you find it more difficult than the debut?
It had its moments, though we had two fantastic producers in Mark Bowen and Loren Humphrey and we had an incredible time making the record.
What lessons did you learn from making the debut that you took into the creation of your second album?
We wanted to make this album a lot more expansive and cinematic and create something a lot more mature as we grow a little older.
What drove the album’s thematic content? What is the album about, to you?
Anxiety and anhedonia from the consumption of daily news brought on this album and it was a search for hope. To me the album is a call to action in an introspective way and outward too.
We live in a period of turmoil and difficulty – how do you condense that feeling of unease into three-minute vignettes?
We bounce off the zeitgeist, the world is on fire and we either be a part of the flames or try our best to smoulder it. These videos we made try to mirror our feelings against the world and I believe Thomas James did a fantastic job.
You’re heading out on a comprehensive tour this autumn. What’s on the Gurriers rider?
Breakfast bits and ginger shots, there’s beer at the bar.
Describe your live set in three words?
Sweaty organised chaos.
What’s your biggest challenge as a band moving forward?
Always evolving and creating music that we have to be proud of is a challenge we welcome.
Top three Irish artists who are next up?
Madra Salach, Theatre and Child of Prague.
Words – Ben Tibbits
