Belfast-based Irish noise punk mob Enola Gay (Fionn Reilly – vocals, Joe McVeigh – guitar, Adam Cooper – bass, Luke Beirne – drums) have this week returned with scintillating new effort ‘PTS.DUP’, which dropped on 4th April via Modern Sky (Crawlers, Malady). It’s the first reveal from the band’s forthcoming EP set for release this summer.
Venomous hip-hop-inspired vocals that are as uncompromising as the guitars are unforgiving, layered on a rhythm section that draws as much from left-field electronica and techno as it does from post-punk heroes of the late 70s, Enola have certainly wasted no time in establishing themselves as one of the next unique punk voices.
Hotly tipped by the likes of NME, Rolling Stone, DIY and Dork, as well as revered musicians Iggy Pop and Jehnny Beth, the group are back to follow up their acclaimed debut EP ‘Gransha’ and have partnered with cult indie label Modern Skyin the process.
More raucous than ever and inspired by a personal attack that left a member with a fractured skull; Enola lambast Northern Irish conservative party the DUP and their influence on the impressionable youth of today who feel a lack of identity and abandonment by their own government. Whilst instrumentally and verbally scalding, ‘PTS.DUP’ also yearns for a united Ireland while also prompting listeners to think about how frustrated sides of the community are indoctrinated into blind hatred from an early age to suit a misinformed agenda.
Speaking ahead of its release, the band explained: “Following a band member being brutalised in a sectarian attack that left him with a fractured skull, we felt a lot of raw hatred and some shame. After processing this, we reflected on the tribalism that fuelled the attack and our anger that followed. The attackers themselves are victims of jingoistic rhetoric that is insidiously normalised in the north of Ireland. In a country still suffering remnants of The Troubles, young people left in the middle of the road turn to alt-right political parties masquerading as conservatism such as the DUP, searching for a sense of belonging. With talks of a united Ireland looming we should consider how and why Unionists feel and fear that they will be left with nowhere to call home when they shouldn’t have to”.
Enola Gay are on Bandcamp.
Enola Gay fans will be able to head on down to The Prince Albert in Brighton on Thursday 15th June in order to catch the band live in person, courtesy of local promoters LOUT.
Full Live Dates:
8th June Gullivers, Manchester
9th June The Parish, Huddersfield
10th June Download Festival, Donnington
12th June Yellow Arch, Sheffield
13th June The Hare & Hounds, Birmingham
14th June Kazimier Stockroom, Liverpool
15th June The Prince Albert, Brighton
16th June Windmill Brixton, London
17th June The Louisiana, Bristol
Purchase your tour tickets HERE.
