The Corkonian band Mirrors have been making a splash on the Irish music scene in recent years. Their background is quite humble; they formed rather casually as a school band by some adolescents looking for a creative output whilst facing the Leaving Certificate.

“Our other guitarist, Charlie [Cullinane], I would’ve been playing guitar with him in school for the school play,” their lead guitarist, Fionnán Sheehan, tells Post-Burnout. “I was playing the guitar part, and I’d bring in my guitar, and Charlie was acting in the school play, and we’d just be playing guitar then.

“The first gigs we ever did… – ‘Gigs’ in big quotations – …was at our friends’ house parties and birthdays and things like that, which was a great trial by fire to start off with gigs. We had some mental incidents, people spilling drinks on amps and guitars, and stuff like that. Just mental stuff, but it’s great stuff, like.”

This ingrained friendship has helped the members sustain themselves as both their popularity rises and they come of age. “I don’t want to speak on behalf of the lads in the band, but from my perspective, it’s very rare that you’ll sit with a group of people and describe how you’re feeling – rather that’s past, present or future – about anything,” their lead vocalist and guitarist, Jodie Lyne, says.

“The bond that you have with bandmates, you can’t really replicate it unless you are there. Growing up, obviously, you encounter first experiences and different things as you transition into adulthood, and I think having a foundational base of a group of people where, through songwriting and making these songs, we’ve seen each other grow and all that, and I think it’s really sweet, being able to tackle all of those difficult feelings with getting older with a group of people, and there’s some level of basic understanding with each other.

“So, I think it’s really nice being with a group of people and you see us all grow up together, pretty much, and I think it’s definitely helped us all with getting older and growing up, and I think that is reflective in the music we’re making, as well, which is really sweet.”

Through other interviews given and their points of reference for their sound, it is very apparent that Mirrors are knowledgeable and have a vested interest in Irish music and the scenes that preceded them. “Growing up in Cork, you get to hear a lot about the bands that went before,” Fionnán says.

“I remember my dad telling me loads of stories about the likes of Nun Attax and stuff like that, and just really cool stories that you hear about older music and then you get into it more, then you just find out that a lot of the music from back in the day in Ireland was just feckin’ class music, like.”

“I think it’s kind of hard not to be inspired by past Irish acts,” Jodie adds to Fionnán’s comment. “I think Ireland itself just seems to be a hub of culture and storytelling, so I think most Irish acts find huge influence from that, and I think we’re really lucky to be growing up in a music scene that’s so inspired by the history of Ireland, as well. I think that’s taking over the music scene, is everyone making reference to where they’re from, and it’s really nice to see people’s Irish identity being involved in music, because it’s always been around but it’s nice that it’s taking place in more modern society, as well, which is really cool.”

Their connections also guide the band in their future endeavours. “I think with Mirrors, before everything, we’re all just friends, and that’s been our main thing for so long,” Jodie says. “Our friendship comes before the band a lot of the time. So, for me… – like, obviously, it’s all of our dreams for this to be our life – …but, for me, as long as I get to hang out with this group of people and not only be best friends with all of these people, but to be making music and music that you’re really proud of with all these people, is one of the best feelings ever. So, if we can continue to play live and make our music, to me, that’s success in itself, just being with these people alone, which I think is really lovely. It’s like a bond and a friendship that I feel like I’ve never had with other people, so it’s so special.”

Beyond their passion and friendship, the members feel their local scene has also played a huge part in their growth. “The music scene in Cork is class. It’s unreal,” Fionnán says. “It’s some of the nicest people you’ll meet, and it’s also just insane talent coming out of Cork at the moment. God, no, it would be impossible to name the top bands at the moment, in my opinion. Some bands I really enjoy would be like Pebbledash; they’re really cool at the moment. Cliffords, as well, have blown up a load. They’re really class lads, as well. There’s too many acts in Cork to name because they deserve a big ol’ praise.”

“Yeah, it’s so nice,” Jodie agrees. “It’s not one bit competitive, like. It’s never been a competitive music scene, ever; everyone just supports each other. You’ll go to multiple gigs throughout the week, and it’s the same other band members supporting each other, so it’s such a lovely scene. The same as Fionnán said, every band is just excelling in their own genre. Say, the likes of Pebbledash, Cliffords, Cardinals, those are just to name some of the amazing bands to come out of Cork, and the scene is just so supportive. It’s so nice, there’s no competitiveness, and everyone’s just there supporting each other, which is really lovely.”

“Sure, back when Mirrors was first starting off, we used to go to Fred Zeppelin’s a load, which is this small local metal, grungy bar,” Fionnán says. “It’s a class ol’ spot that’s popping, with loads of gigs on. I remember we went in one day, and we met Aidan [Lynch] from The Love Buzz, and we were just big fans of The Love Buzz at that time, and we told him, ‘Oh, we’ve actually started a band,’ and then he came out to the smoking area and just sat with us and just talked us through the whole thing of starting a band. It’s just such a lovely thing of everyone picking up each other from hanging out in the same spots. You meet everyone.”

In April 2022, Mirrors released their first single, “Take Me Home,” which is a track they feel no longer represents who they are sonically, but it is one that they will never delete, no matter which direction they go in. “It’s more than just ourselves, as well,” Fionnán says of their decision to keep “Take Me Home” up.

 “There would be people that we would be friends with from the gaff party days that would be able to get good memories out of the song ‘Take Me Home.’ That would’ve been a song that they would’ve listened to regularly, that they would’ve been showing their friends, being like, ‘Look, my friends are in a band’ kind of thing. It’s a nice memory of what we were like back then and what we did sound like back then, but also, other people would attach that song with other feelings, as well. So, I think it’s important to keep it up there, because we don’t want to take that away from anyone. It’s good! I go back to listen to it every once in a while! If you want to get a nice nostalgia trip, it’s nice to review!”

After “Take Me Home,” the band went on to record their debut EP, Envious of the Faithful, a five-piece concept that crafts a windy, overcast atmosphere throughout that is echoed in its artwork, and which the band feels is a better portrayal of their project. The EP was recorded at The Clinic Recording Studios in Dublin with producer Cian Synnott, who has worked on material for Sinéad O’Connor, Gavin Friday, Westlife, Kneecap, Belters Only, and many more. The finished EP was released in January 2024.

“With the last EP, ‘pressure’ isn’t the right word, but I think we did set ourselves a goal of actually coming up with a cohesive piece that follows a story throughout, which I think we’re really proud of,” Jodie says of making Envious of the Faithful. “I know for myself, I felt a pressure as a female musician that I wanted to escape writing about heartbreak and all those things, and I wanted to make this EP cohesive in its story, and I think we all went in with that same mindset.

“Each song tells a different story, but also has an overlapping theme, overall. I think it’s something we’re all super proud of. Like, we kind of set ourselves aside with performing these songs live and made sure we were super comfortable with how they were sounding before we went in, recording. So, I think it’s something we’re proud of, that we have a piece of work that’s self-referential for all of us. But I think what’s really nice in the transition from that EP to this EP is that we didn’t really put those pressures on ourselves this time, and whatever came out in rehearsal happened.

“So, it’s really nice that we’ve set ourselves that goal, knowing that we can make that cohesive piece of work, but also having the new freedoms of going back to our roots of making whatever happens and what feels natural to us. But I think it is something that we’re really proud of as a band, knowing that we can set ourselves a goal and work towards that. So, I think it’s a piece of work that we’re really proud of.”

Since Envious of the Faithful, Mirrors have gained a lot of traction in the Irish music scene. For the members, it seems their expansion is happening gradually and almost sneakily. “There’s some moments we’ve realised…We’ve been playing in small ol’ venues for about the last three years there, but now we’re playing these bigger shows and we’re playing around Ireland and stuff like that, and it does feel quite cool,” Fionnán says. “We were playing in Limerick there only the other week. We were supporting The Rosecaps there, and that was really cool, just a huge Dolan’s crowd. It was great craic. That was a great gig.”

At the end of April, Mirrors dropped their latest single, “Drowning,” which is the first song from their upcoming EP, which is expected to be released in October. “I think ‘Drowning’ was definitely the starting point for this EP,” Jodie says of the track. “You kind of find yourself, once you write one song, you’re going into it like, ‘This feels like the start of something that we’re working towards.’

“Then ‘Drowning’ was definitely a break-off from the shoegaze sound we were chasing for so long, because a lot of our stuff would be really dark and heavy, but I think ‘Drowning’ brings life into our set a lot of the time. It’s one of our favourites to perform live. It has indie layers to it, I suppose, which is also a reference to the beginnings of the band because we would’ve been an indie band, predominantly, at the start. But it was really nice. I think it was a really nice beginning of experiencing freedom in the music that we make.

“After Envious of the Faithful, we found ourselves limiting ourselves to heavy rock or shoegaze, so ‘Drowning’ was definitely a really nice starting point, where whatever was working was working, and if it came out as a song, we kept it. ‘Drowning’ is one that we’re all really proud of. It’s probably the one that came out most different from our recording. It’s definitely a lot more poppy. So, yeah, I’m just really excited to get that single out and start the beginning of the releases for our upcoming EP.”

We wrap up by asking what’s next for Mirrors. Jodie responds, “So, ‘Drowning’ is [out on] the 24^th of April. Our other track, ‘Alive,’ will be at the end of June. Then ‘Would’ will be out in September, and the full EP will be out at the end of October, then we’ll be doing an Irish and UK tour in November time.

“So, that’s the main, set-in-stone plans, but for us we’re just going to keep pushing these singles. It’s really difficult being an independent band and finding time to do your part, which is making music, but also, on top of that, being an influencer [Laughs] and doing TikToks. It feels so counterproductive, but, in reality, that is the most you can do for the band, so it feels a bit weird doing the social media stuff.

“So, getting more comfortable doing that and reaching out and pushing ourselves for different opportunities. Because the opportunities are there, we just need to push ourselves to get to them, so we’re just hoping that these singles and releases help us move forward as a band, and tour as much as we can, and do as many gigs as we can, and see how far we can go with it!”

Mirrors’ latest single, “Drowning,” is on all streaming platforms now. You can keep up with the band through their Linktree.

Tune into POSTBURNOUT.COM Interviews…tonight to hear this interview in full. Available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music Podcasts.

Aaron Kavanagh

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.