Nov 12, 2026 · 1h 16m
Ireland’s new bands turn tradition and frustration into collective release
Best New Music of Ireland With Lola Petticrew
The episode maps how Ireland’s current music scene draws on traditional culture, political tension, and local community without settling for one dominant sound.
- 1Irish artists are fusing traditional music with punk, shoegaze, industrial electronics, and experimental songwriting.
- 2Local venues and supportive relationships give emerging bands room to develop distinct identities beyond Fontaines D.C.’s influence.
- 3Live performance becomes a communal outlet where cultural frustration, anger, and post-conflict trauma can be processed together.
Don't miss
Lola Petticrew recounts seeing Child of Prague combine Irish traditional instruments, wailing vocals, math-rock guitars, and emo into an overwhelming live performance.
The brief
Lola Petticrew joins Yasi Salek to survey Ireland’s new music, where traditional sounds, cultural reclamation, and punk meet a generation eager to hear itself clearly.
Fontaines D.C., Gurriers, Gilla Band, and Madra Salik anchor a tour through atmospheric rock, dance-punk, and abrasive industrial music, but the point is variety rather than imitation.
The scene’s local venues and mutual support matter as much as its records: shows turn frustration into shared energy, while artists build identities outside familiar catalogues and playlists.
Child of Prague becomes the episode’s vivid example, combining Irish traditional instruments, wailing vocals, math-rock guitars, and emo into something Lola describes as overwhelming live.
From Chalk’s danceable processing of Belfast’s post-conflict atmosphere to the Mary Wallopers’ political folk-punk, the episode treats performance as collective emotional release.
The final argument is that Ireland has post-punk’s beating heart because its artists share roots and solidarity without producing interchangeable versions of Fontaines D.C.
Weekly email
State of the Pod, every Monday
The week's most-discussed names and stories from podcasts, with the moments behind them. Free, five minutes, unsubscribe in one click.