MARIA SOMERVILLE + INSIDES – GREEN DOOR STORE, BRIGHTON 25.4.25
Today, Irish musician Maria Somerville has dropped her second album which is titled ‘Luster’ and it’s out on the famous 4AD label – Details HERE. It was recorded in Conamara and Dublin between 2021 and 2023 and contains a dozen tunes, four of which have already been released as singles, these being ‘Projections’, ‘Garden’, ‘Stonefly’ and ‘Spring’
‘Luster’ was first introduced late last year when her first single in three years, ‘Projections’, was unleashed. This is a wistful and romantic shoegaze track drenched in longing via fuzzed-out bass and strummed guitar, and carried by Somerville’s hypnotic and tranquil vocal stylings. And along with follow-up single ‘Garden‘, which was produced by Diego Herrera, aka Suzanne Kraft, both new tracks pointed towards the upcoming album’s haunting tranquillity and lush sonic backdrop. In particular, ‘Garden’ sinks Somerville’s emotive siren-esque vocal stylings into a whirring, all-consuming merger of soaring feedback, airy percussion, and nostalgic guitar chords reminiscent of classic 4AD. Listening to her performance this evening, it’s totally evident that Somerville and 4AD are a perfect match
By the time Somerville started writing ‘Luster’, she had lived away from her native Connemara for quite some time. Having grown up amongst the wild, mountainous terrain of Galway’s rural west coast, she later relocated to Dublin, where she patiently developed an atmospheric dream pop signature inspired by the landscape of her youth – a spellbinding sound world of gusting ambient electronics, ethereal guitar strums, sparse percussion, and hushed lyrical vignettes. In 2019, this culminated in ‘All My People’, a self-released LP steeped in reverb, nostalgia and a yearning for home that won praise from discerning press and listeners alike.
It was upon returning to Connemara, in a house near where she was raised overlooking one of the country’s largest lakes, Lough Corrib, that work commenced on the songs that would eventually become ‘Luster’, an album that illuminates Somerville’s music anew, pushing it forward in both sound and spirit. Where ‘All My People’ conveyed memories and melancholic longing with misty slowcore balladry, these 12 new tracks show us an artist who’s more assured in the path her life has taken, and the person she’s become in the process.
Listeners have had a window into Somerville’s world every Monday and Tuesday morning since 2021 via her beloved Early Bird Show on NTS Radio, where her dawn chorus selections range from blissful ambient and shoegaze to traditional Irish folk songs. Since signing to 4AD that same year, Somerville has toured with her labelmates Dry Cleaning, and released two covers for the label’s 40th anniversary celebrations – taking on Nancy Sinatra’s ‘Kinky Love’ and Air Miami’s ‘Sea Bird’. With the release of ‘Luster’, she has signalled the arrival of a new era that will this year see her play around the world accompanied by a live band.
This evening at the Green Door Store she is accompanied by a couple of chums whose names I endeavour to grasp as they are quietly disclosed by Somerville. They sounded like Michael Spier on drums and Sean Bean on bass, but they could be wrong. The trio entertained us for 58 minutes from 9:02pm to 10pm and in that period we were rewarded with a dozen compositions, seven of which can be found on the new LP, two more were from 2019’s ‘All My People’ album, and I believe the remaining trio of cuts are currently unreleased. The lighting for the set remains constant throughout and so there are no distractions from the music being played.
Somerville informs us that her album is out today, which is greeted accordingly by the mixed aged punters. She’s in charge of her Fender Jaguar guitar and her bassist chum is wielding a Squier Precision and the other is on drums. Immediately of note is that the drummer is playing the edge of the cymbal with what looks like a double violin bow. This makes a screeching sound which adds to the atmospheric build up of the first tune, which according to the setlist is ‘Intro’. Meanwhile Somerville is constantly using the tremolo on her guitar for an echo effect. This is just like the Cocteau Twins but without the backing beat. They segue straight into ‘Spring’ from the new ‘Luster’ album, which has the dreamlike echo quality of the backing heard on Dream Academy’s ‘Life In A Northern’ town, and then the drumbeat kicks in and it’s shoegaze all the way here. This already enforces the decision to release on 4AD as it’s a match to their historic sound.
Prior to commencing tune three, Somerville quietly states “It’s so nice to be here in Brighton, this is great!” and then the trio dive into the unreleased ‘Heart Interlude’, which again features some screechy cymbal action atop the quiet vocal delivery. ‘Corrib’ (from the new album) was then introduced and it clearly has a place in her heart. It’s a laid back tune that doesn’t outstay its welcome, by that I mean it’s a relatively succinct tune. ‘Halo’ was the next choice from the new record and this was a rather rocky number as compared with the previous songs. ‘Garden’ (from the new LP) is up next and the start of this reminds me of the Sugarcubes ‘Birthday’. There’s some notable top bass guitar notes on offer during this track. With a quick strike of the drums and the trio are away with ‘Projections’, which is also on the new release. This is a strummer of a tune and the drummer selects felt drumsticks on this track and they remain in use for the unreleased brief instrumental ‘Sea Forever’ which sees some more enjoyable tremolo guitar action from Somerville, and some plucky bass notes added in the mix. Then the drum beat kicks in and they segue straight into ‘This Way’ from 2019’s ‘All My People’ album, which features some dual harmonies.
‘Stonefly’ from the ‘Luster’ album is a more lively angelic sounding tune but also is intense due to the strumming and skippy drumbeat. It’s a shoegaze tune and has the repeated “Without you” line which stood out somewhat. This gains the largest applause thus far. The penultimate tune of the evening was ‘October Moon’ which is a sedate number with the use of only the guitar and bass. This, more than any other tune in the set, oozes that homeland Irish vibe. It’s certainly the most sensitive number that they played. They sign off with the title tune of the 2019 ‘All My People’ album and this begins with that violin bow action on the cymbal again. This builds in intensity and then the felt drumsticks were again called upon. The droning guitar and bass combination and joint vocals add to the overall sound. The body of the bass guitar is also continually banged with the palm of the hand for further effect. It works rather well. Somerville also added the final touches via the tremolo as she crouched down to do so and tapped the foot pedals. One more final interesting trick saw the head of the stock of the bass resting atop the speaker, this added another dimension of distortion into the mix. It’s a real cacophony to end on. The dystopian sound has been achieved and this was the perfect way to sign off the set.
Maria Somerville:
Maria Somerville – vocals, guitar
Sean Bean? – bass, backing vocals
Michael Spier? – drums
Maria Somerville setlist:
‘Intro’ (unreleased)
‘Spring’ (from 2025 ‘Luster’ album)
‘Heart Interlude’ (unreleased)
‘Corrib’ (from 2025 ‘Luster’ album)
‘Halo’ (from 2025 ‘Luster’ album)
‘Garden’ (from 2025 ‘Luster’ album)
‘Projections’ (from 2025 ‘Luster’ album)
‘Sea Forever’ (unreleased)
‘This Way’ (from 2019 ‘All My People’ album)
‘Stonefly’ (from 2025 ‘Luster’ album)
‘October Moon’ (from 2025 ‘Luster’ album)
‘All My People’ (from 2019 ‘All My People’ album)
Support this evening came from local ambient pop duo Insides which comprises Kirsty Yates on vocals and Julian Tardo (J. Serge Tardo) on guitar and programming. The duo were originally on the case from 1989 to 1993 under the guise of Earwig along with Dimitri Voulis on guitars and sequencing, where they released an album titled ‘Under My Skin I Am Laughing’, as well as three EP’s, a single and a compilation album.
Kirsty and Julian then went on to form Insides and dropped their debut long player titled ‘Euphoria’ in the same year as their formation, namely 1993. This came out on the 4AD imprint Guernica as a glacial soundworld of eerie electronics and dispassionate vocals, cradling brutally candid lyrics. The following year’s ‘Clear Skin’ was their 4AD swansong: a limited edition, one-track CD featuring a 38-minute instrumental. The pair later re-emerged on the Third Stone label and released their ‘Sweet Tip’ album in 2000. Their latest release, which dropped in 2021, is called ‘Soft Bonds’ and came out via yet another label, this time it was Further Distractions. It is said that their icy electronic pop explores the darkest corners of love and sex. Their songs capture the emptiness and hostility that surface when the afterglow fades, ugly scenes punctuated by eruptions of violence, waves of self-loathing and caresses that are cold to the touch.
This evening Kirsty relinquished her bass guitar duties and solely concentrated on her vocal deliveries. A third person was added to the lineup this evening this being Joe Davin and the trio gave us a taster 33 minute set comprising seven songs, with the middle three culled from their ‘Soft Bonds’ album and sandwiched by two either side from their debut ‘Euphoria’ album. They therefore kick off with a couple from ‘Euphoria’, these being ‘Walking In Straight Lines’ and ‘Bent Double’. We are informed that the latter tune is apparently liked by American singer, producer, and songwriter Caroline Polachek. Kirsty’s vocal deliveries are in the main slower talky style affairs as opposed to the music as though it’s 2am for her and 10pm for the band.
The beats pick up with the arrival of the first of a trio of cuts from their ‘Soft Bonds’ album, this being ‘Misericord’ with its echo guitar sounds courtesy of some foot pedal action accompanied by a booming beat. ‘Ghost Music’ is a more experimental number in which someone like Björk would have concocted. The booming backbeat is still there, but it’s got added ethereal vibes and it’s as though Kirsty’s vocals are fighting against the music. ‘Undressing’ is up next and has a heartbeat backing with wayward electronics and here the vocals remind me of Nico and Marianne Faithful, but not as deep.
After these, Kirsty says “That’s the moody section out of the way”, and they perform ‘Skin Divers’ from 1993’s ‘Euphoria’ with its backing beat and guitar was notably more upbeat. More of the same followed on their final number, ‘Darling Effect’ which is also found on ‘Euphoria’ and I must say that for myself and my colleague, the longer their set went on the better it got for us, and at 8:33pm they were done.
Insides:
Kirsty Yates – vocals
Julian Tardo – guitar, programming
Joe Davin – bass
Insides setlist:
‘Walking In Straight Lines’ (from 1993 ‘Euphoria’ album)
‘Bent Double’ (from 1993 ‘Euphoria’ album)
‘Misericord’ (from 2021 ‘Soft Bonds’ album)
‘Ghost Music’ (from 2021 ‘Soft Bonds’ album)
‘Undressing’ (from 2021 ‘Soft Bonds’ album)
‘Skin Divers’ (from 1993 ‘Euphoria’ album)
‘Darling Effect’ (from 1993 ‘Euphoria’ album)
