Fangclub are back
Have you heard the good news? Fangclub are back and it’s all good again. After what feels like an eternity and, at some point, unlikely to ever happen, the grunge rockers have returned to the live scene with a hometown gig at Whelan’s. Welcome to Monday, by the way. Let’s talk about the return of one of Dublin’s best bands you may not have heard of.
In the words of lead singer and guitarist Steven King (I know, real name) after being asked on stage by an excited fan, “We’re from the town of Rush, County Dublin”. This writer first came across Fangclub annoyingly thanks to the Facebook algorithm. What immediately got my attention were the words “Irish grunge rock band”. I had never seen the words “Irish” and “grunge” in the same sentence before. At that time in my life, I wasn’t a big fan of many Irish bands. I have since gone on to find others. Many of whom are contemporaries of Fangclub such as Thumper and Gilla Band. The Irish scene is hopping. You just have to look in the right places. From the moment I listened to Fangclub, I knew they had it in them to make the big time. After a few bumps in the road (and a global pandemic to put in the mix), I believe they are on the right path again.
Taking to the main stage at Whelan’s is something they have done before. Right before the world shut down over 4 years ago now, they also enjoyed a headline show at The Button Factory in Dublin. Although Whelan’s is smaller, it didn’t feel like a step down from the energy they brought to previous shows I have seen of theirs both live and online. Something felt so right about a band playing the music Fangclub plays surrounded by gig posters in a dimly lit dingy bar atmosphere. It’s exactly what they needed. Having previously seen them support Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes in The Academy 2 and another lowkey gig supporting Metallica at Slane Castle, the energy remains the same. Simply heavy, crunchy guitars, provided by King and bassist Kevin Keane with loud in-your-face percussion for backup provided by Dara Coleman that makes me wish I brought earplugs. Although the members come across as somewhat introverted people, the music certainly is far from reserved. They are just your perfect rock band.
Rumblings began at the start of the year with the band updating their social media and finally releasing their first new single since 2018, Attention. Playing that as part of the set alongside their next single Out of My Head, released a month later and Natural, released the day of their Whelan’s headliner. Their songwriting has by no means taken a dip. The band have finally announced the upcoming EP All Good, due for release this Friday, June 14th. We can only hope that this leads to an upcoming album because this writer sees a bright future for Fangclub and hopes there won’t be as long a gap between releases in future. Did I mention their from Dublin?
