POST-BURNOUT
In the three years since the Dublin-by-Galway-by-Donegal garage punk trio Adore (comprised of the Dubliner guitarist and vocalist Lara Minchin, the Donegalese bassist Lachlann Ó Fionnáin, and the Galwegian drummer Naoise Jordan Cavanagh) have existed, they have already had a fairly enviable career, marked by consistently-high online streams, media opportunities and buzz, and (perhaps most importantly) continuous support, festival, and headlining slots across Ireland, the UK, and mainland Europe, which has endeared them to thousands of fans across the continent.
“It feels very evenly paced for me,” said Lara of the band’s growth when they spoke with us last month. “My friend Lauren said it to me: ‘You guys just seem to be going steady, steady, and not going too fast or jumping into anything.’ I think we’re really trying to really have a balance between life, health and music, and our manager, Lewis [Smith], is fantastic for that. He understands that we have lives outside of this.”
“It has been pretty steady,” concurs Lachlann. “We haven’t, like, ‘Gone viral’ or anything. I think each release is hitting a steady level, and from that, we’ve managed to stay independent, with a brilliant manager, as well, in Lewis. We all absolutely love Lewis. It does give you the autonomy. Working with Dan[iel Fox] and stuff, as well; we’ve got a producer that understands us creatively, and we’ve got Lewis who really understands us as people.
“We’ve got great people on the other side of the team, as well, and great people around us who understand what the project’s all about, and I think through that, you get to do all the things that you really want to do when you want to do them, and putting out the songs that you want to put out and writing the songs that you want to write. I do know other people in other projects who don’t have that autonomy with their releases and everything, so, yeah, we are very lucky that we have a lot of freedom in that regard.
“Like, we’re playing with Chalk soon. We love those guys; they’re so much fun. And you make those connections, and there’s not even bands that we play with that we don’t even like. It is great, in that way. So, there is autonomy in that way, and I guess it’s come through being honest with everybody and, you know, trying to be ourselves as much as possible.”
Photo by Paula Trojner
Courtesy of Warmth Agency
This freedom extends to their songwriting. On this, Naoise says, “Writing for yourself…Some people – like if they’re a pop artist – they don’t always do that, and I respect that, but I think for us, writing for ourselves and just having fun and experimenting, and not being like, ‘We have to be this type of band, and we have to write this type of song.’ I think we’re just open to just trying new things and having fun. If we try something and we’re not into it or whatever, we’re like, ‘Yeah, that’s fine.’ There’s no ego attached to anything.
“It’s like any kind of creative project: trying stuff out, throwing stuff at the wall, and seeing what sticks. If you’re trying to write for an album and you want a certain sound or whatever, obviously, that’s a different thing, but I think, in general, with any creative project that I’ve been involved with, it’s always important to just have fun and just write for yourself, and don’t be thinking about what people might like or what people might expect to hear or whatever. I sound cliché saying that, but it’s an important thing to just have fun.”
The members’ inessential standpoint on being musicians and of music itself (“I sometimes remember, ‘What I’m doing is a very silly thing,’” in Lara’s words; “It’s just symmetrical vibrations of air that make you feel emotions,” in Naoise’s) helps them to maintain a healthy perspective on what they are doing with Adore; a position that can perhaps be afforded as, despite the band’s growth, they are not yet dependent upon the project as their primary source of income, which supports the notion that they’re in it for the love of the game.
“We all have jobs,” Lara says. “Yeah, it’s probably one of the worst times, I would say, financially, to be in a band,” laughs Lachlann. “It’s tricky, but you can still…Look, we’re all kind of renting either a studio space or a living space and stuff like that, and you find ways. It’s a tricky thing to explain, but it feels like, ‘By whatever means necessary.’ Like, if I have to give myself fifty quid in a week, I’ll find a way to do it, and it’s because you love being in the band and because you love playing. And a lot of bands are in that situation, as well. “I think everyone I know is in that situation, even if they’re not in a band,” adds Lara. “For everyone in the country at the moment.”
“Yeah, it’s all a balancing act, really,” Naoise says. “Whether or not I ever do it for a living, I’d still be doing it because I’d go crazy if I couldn’t do it, but the tricky thing is, you obviously do it because you love it, but in order to do it, in order to have the time to do it…Obviously, the cost of living is so high and everything, so you need some kind of way to have the time to do it whilst also working, which is the tricky part. A lot of bands have part of their income pay[ing] for them to do the band, and part of it is working. So, it’s just a balancing act, really. You should never do this kind of thing just to make money or whatever, but you need to fund doing it. It is very tricky, but it’s a balancing act, really; just trying to balance everything and balance your life and keep your mental health well.”
This balance is something the members have had experience with since their teen years, but the pressures of maintaining that have grown with both the success of Adore and its members entering adulthood. “We’ve all been in bands for so long,” Lachlann explains.
“Myself and Lara have been in a band since we were, like, fourteen/fifteen…” “Same with Naoise,” adds Lara. “Same with Naoise,” continues Lachlann. “Like, sixteen/seventeen? Anyway, long times, anyway. We spent so long of our formative years in bands, that it doesn’t really feel like you’re doing something wildly different. We have been practiced for quite a while, but it definitely is a new thing being in the adult world, and renting and working and stuff.”
“I have a chronic illness, so my main priority is my health,” Lara says. “Lewis is very mindful of my health, and when we started working with him, I was very unwell. So, he was saying, ‘What can we do while you are stationary? What can we do if you are bedridden? How can we plant seeds and move forward when you’re not well, and how can we be mindful of your health?’ And I’ve also worked with the doctors in Vincent’s.
“I have to tell them, ‘I’m travelling a lot. This is my life.’ A big thing is sleep, and it’s like, ‘Well, I probably won’t get the type of sleep I need.’ I’m working with nutritionists, like, ‘I’m on the road, so how can I eat in a way that will maintain my health while I’m not in the comfort of my own home?’ Because it’s easy enough to stay healthy when you’re at home, but if you’re travelling and working, it’s hard to keep that balance. So, with the combination of the lads being understanding, being honest about how things affect your health, and being in communication with both doctors and our manager, it makes it a bit easier to manage that side of things.”
As mentioned earlier in the article, Adore have been working with Gilla Band’s bassist and the independent producer and engineer Daniel Fox on their songs. According to the band, they tend to record two songs per session, with each session lasting about two days. With songs accrued over the three years that Adore have existed, in addition to leftover songs from Lara and Naoise’s previous band, they feel that they have an album’s worth of material ready, but are not looking to release a full-length record until it feels like the right time.
Last month, Adore released their first single of the year, “Stay Free Old Stranger.” With a trove of music, we ask why they chose this song as their first for the year. “Well, it was a song that was in me and Lara’s old band,” Naoise responds. “So, it was a really old song. I think it was the first we played, actually, in Adore.
“We changed it a bit – I think we just slightly changed little bits, here and there – but it’s, essentially, the same song. Not that much has changed with it. Why did we choose to release it? It’s just a tune! [Laughs]” “I think it’s a song that was very much cooked and has been sitting in the Tupperware for years and was just itching to be out,” Lara adds.
“And it’s one that we play all the time, and people who come to the shows, they know the song, and I feel like I’ve been withholding it from you. We did release it with Blowtorch as a B-side for the physical release of [their 2023 debut single] ‘Postcards,’ but it didn’t reach that many people because it was on a physical release.
“So, considering it was a song that I wrote when I was sixteen, it was time, and it feels like a big weight off the shoulders to have it out [Laughs] because it’s something that’s just been carried around, like, ‘This is the song we play all the time! It’s not available online!’ So, it’s nice that it’s out there. And I think because it is such an adolescent song, I’m just happy to have it done and out there, now, because it’s been long enough and feels like it’s doing a nice thing for my teenage self. ‘That’s there, now! Are you happy?’ [Laughs]”
“I think it’s my favourite song to play, as well,” adds Lachlann. “I think it’s been in every set we’ve done. It’s so much fun to play that song! Oh, my God! There’s other songs where you’re like, ‘Maybe we’ll give that one a break for a while,’ which is usually on the repetition side of things, but ‘Stay Free…,’ I have such a great time.
“There’s so many little moments in that, that myself and Naoise love linking up, and myself and Lara linking up on the vocals and stuff. […] Recording it was great craic, and it felt good to start the year off with one that we’re very familiar with, and to release the first song that you’ve ever played together is a nice feeling, too.”
Adore’s latest single, “Stay Free Old Stranger,” is on all streaming platforms now. Keep up with the band through their Linktree.
Catch Adore on tour next month at…
May 1st – Galway, Ireland – Sound by Sound West (Tickets)
18th – Southampton, UK – Heartbreakers (Tickets)
20th – Hull, UK – Polar Bear Music Club (Tickets)
22nd – London, UK – The Waiting Room (Tickets)
23rd – Tunbridge Wells, UK – Unfest Festival (Tickets)
24th – Bristol, UK – Dot to Dot Festival (Tickets)
25th – Nottingham, UK – Dot to Dot Festival (Tickets)
29th – Paris, France – Supersonic’s Block Party (Tickets)
30th – Paris, France – Supersonic’s Block Party (Tickets)
Tune into POSTBURNOUT.COM Interviews… tonight at 21:00 (IST) to hear this interview in full. Available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music Podcasts.
Aaron Kavanagh is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Post-Burnout. His writing can also be found in the Irish Daily Star, Buzz.ie, Totally Dublin, The GOO, Headstuff, New Noise Magazine, XS Noize, DSCVRD and more.