Gurriers – Come And See review

The old saying was that if you remembered it you probably weren’t there, but a newer adage is that if you’re not angry, why not? If there’s been a more creatively fruitful place than Ireland for new music in the twenties so far, then make the case, but Gurriers along with their more famous compatriots are only likely to enhance that belief.

Formed in the 2020 at almost the point that the Covid shutters came down on society, the quintet had to wait almost two years until their first gig, but whilst isolation is good for nobody, it’s at least given singer Dan Hoff the time and space to hone the material on Come And See, an album on which the controlled rage of the young is portioned up into unequivocal doses.

It’s a punk record in that sense, with all the disaffection and nihlism that carries, but not entirely in tone. Indebted in parts to Fontaines DC and Idles – no bad thing – opener Nausea sets a relentless meter, whilst Des Goblin applies a snark to the very online and Prayers sets about religious decay both spiritual and physical. The titular closer pitches it’s tent in shoegaze, but the peak is Approachable, a paranoid shank at the rise of the far right which were once in their bedrooms and now have social media temples built by ther own fascist emperor. So again, if not, why not?

You can read a full review here.