When Post-Burnout last spoke to the Dublin-based musician Steve Kennedy, he was promoting his latest grunge-pop project, Green Gurl. Already well-known on the local scene as the bassist for the popular, energetic alt-pop band Trinkets (which Steve admits had a gradual build towards success), Green Gurl, by contrast, immediately hit the ground running, which caused some unexpected consternation.

“Green Gurl was just going so well,” Steve says, when he spoke with us last month. “I think it was going in the right direction, and it made a lot of sense. The songs were great, and we were having so much fun, but I think it just wasn’t the right moment for everybody.

“Even though the momentum was picking up, behind the scenes, it just wasn’t feeling like that. There was difficulty in just kind of having everybody on the same wavelength, and what are you meant to feel in a project that seems to be moving forward really quickly?”

Due to their sudden rise in interest, an unexpected pressure came upon the members of Green Gurl, which they were unwilling to deal with, so they decided to amicably split after their first release, “Monsters.” But Steve hints that the band might come back in some form to release more singles down the line.

With Green Gurl no longer occupying his time, Steve continued with Trinkets, whose profile continued to rise at a pace he felt more comfortable with. But Steve had ambitions that he felt the projects he was attached to were not fulfilling.

“I’ve just been really, really eager to sing in a band for ages,” Steve says. “I had been writing songs with vocals in them for years… – like, all through college – …and never had an actual place to put them. After Green Gurl ended, it opened a door for me to be like, ‘Oh, you know what? I actually want to go back to that thought of, “I want to be the frontperson in the band.”’”

On his morning commutes to work, Steve listened to a lot of Weezer, a band he had always liked, but whose discography he never really delved into. “I think their first two albums are definitely the ones that I keep going back to,” Steve says. “Just because they’re the ones that I have in my head sometimes.

“I just think of Weezer songs a lot, because their hooks are so timeless and their lyrics are so fun. It’s an attitude thing, as well; I love the vibe of them. I just think it’s funny. They just know exactly who they are.”

What really inspired Steve was Weezer’s ability to marry upbeat and euphonic instrumentation with their sombre and neurotically contemplative lyrics. “They’re uplifting in a way,” Steve says. “There’s a lot of major chords. There’s a lot of contrast in the textures and emotions of their music.”

With this influence, Steve began writing music that dealt with what he felt were relatable, day-to-day anxieties and stressors and scoring them to major power-chord-driven buoyancy.  

“I hoped that the songs affirmed those frustrations for other people,” Steve says of the intent of his songs. “Because you can feel like, ‘Am I wrong for feeling like, sometimes, every single thing in the day almost feels designed to get in the way of you achieving your dreams, or enjoying your life?’”

The concept was simple: Vent on mundanities and the reactions that banality invokes. This germinated the prospect of a new band, and Steve immediately brought the idea to his work colleague and Trinkets bandmate, Ben Cronin, who, despite playing guitar, had previously written bass parts that Steve found detailed, intricate, and fun to play.

 “I think about a year ago, I said to Ben, ‘I have songs that I really want to bring to a rehearsal room to jam out, and just to hear how it’s going to sound, actually playing with people,’” Steve explains.

“Because I was making demos and visualising it in my head. I was just hearing it in my head, but not able to really know how it was going to sound, because I don’t have a drumkit. I couldn’t really fully flesh it out; I use MIDI drums when I’m making demos at home.

“So, I had written a bunch of stuff already, with no definite sound of how it was going to be, in terms of the energy and stuff like this, but, from me just playing it on my guitar and making demos, I had a good idea.”

As Steve hadn’t previously sung lead, he also wanted to hear his vocals run through a PA system. “I have never really managed to sing like somebody else,” Steve says of his style. “Like, I can do impressions and stuff, but I never felt like I could identify with another singer, as to be like, ‘Oh, they have the same voice as me.’ I could just never find that.”

With Steve on guitar and vocals, and Ben on bass, they just needed a drummer to fill out the sound. Steve thought of Grim Nordahl, a seasoned session player, who, at the time, was not attached to any other project.

“I had met Grim a million times at gigs, and I would say that I considered myself friends with him at that point, from years of seeing him at gigs,” Steve says. “Even though we had never met up outside of that, we just happened to be at the same gigs very often, and we played on the same line-up as him a few times with different bands and stuff.

“He’s just an amazing drummer, and he always just looked so into what he was playing, every time I saw him. He really just feels everything he plays. He’s quite particular about his parts and everything. He’s very focused.

“He thinks a lot about what he’s playing, and he won’t settle for anything less than what he thinks is the exact thing that needs to be played, which I think is just great to work with someone who’s so passionate and that matches your energy so well.”

Steve describes the trio as “relaxed people, who also get really, really hyper.” In the studio that Trinkets practice in, the three nailed the songs that Steve brought them. For the band, it was important to nail down their laid-back but energetic sound before premiering live.

When the three had fully realised what they were, they just had to christen it. While they had alternative suggestions, like Mammy Awards, they decided to go with something as casual as their vibe. “So, DOG BLESS, I feel like it’s just this kind of thing that you say,” Steve says of their name. “At least to me, it just felt like a saying. A phrase you hear.”

After meticulously crafting Steve’s vision in the studio for about half a year, the band were ready to bring it to the world. Their debut gig was at Little Whelan’s in July 2025, before playing Whelan’s coveted Summer Watch showcase the following night.

“It wasn’t because our skill was noticed, I think!” laughs Steve, when remembering this opportunity. “I think it was a two A.M. slot that nobody would take, and we were like, ‘We will do it!’ And we literally rocked up after work, exhausted, because we had just played a gig the night before, and we played that show, and it was so much fun, and we have great memories from that night.”

For the past half-a-year, DOG BLESS have been showcasing their music on the local circuit, and today, they dropped their debut single, “Nothings Going Well,” to show the rest of the world what they’re about.

“I think it is definitely the one, out of our setlist so far, that feels like the thing we were going for the most,” Steve says of choosing this song for their debut. “It’s definitely the sound that I had in my head when I first thought of starting the band, and I think if I heard that song, I would be a fan of the band, so that’s why I wanted it to be the first one.

“And it’s got the energy and the attitude that I think the band, as a whole, as one picture, portrays. It’s nonchalant, in a way. In the verses, it feels like you’re brushing it off. It’s a bit sarcastic and everything. It’s like, Nothing you say sounds like a thing I want for me or you. You’ve changed. But it’s not sung in a heartbreak-y way; it’s in a bit of a moany way!”

With elements of alt-rock, grunge, and barbershop quartet, “Nothings Going Well” deals with a well-worn trope: a break-up song. But Steve adds a lot of depth and consideration to this concept. “It’s a happy texture over a defeatist attitude of the relationship; of feeling unwanted and that the person that you’re with is a different person now,” Steve says.

“It’s the kind of relationship where your partner starts to see the world in a way where they’re like, ‘OK, so how am I better than everyone else? How can I big myself up?’ […] I think the character in the song is just a person who looks down their nose at you, but they’re still in the relationship with you, so it’s a bit like, ‘So, why are we even together anymore? What happened?’”

With their debut single out, Steve affirms that you will be seeing a lot from DOG BLESS throughout 2026. From more singles and live dates, including international shows, Steve says that he would like to make this his full-time career, but is aware of the limitations in achieving that.

Regardless of how big DOG BLESS grows to, Steve has a simple intent: “It’s special for me to be able to perform that way,” he says. “And I only want to do it, because I know how it makes me feel. So, if anyone else can feel something good out of these songs, that’s literally all I want out of it.”

DOG BLESS’s debut single, “Nothings Going Well,” is out today. You can keep up with the band through their Linktree.

You can see DOG BLESS live at:

February 28^th – Dublin – The Workman’s Club (supporting The Psychs)
March 6^th – Belfast – Hustle (supporting KIP and Touzai)

Tune into POSTBURNOUT.COM Interviews…tonight at 22:00 (IST) 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.