'Madra' has impact, but it's a soft impact - force, cushioned with a layer of dreamy haze. And there are plenty more of those apparent contradictions to come.
The album opens with the brooding, minor-key noodlings of 'Angel'. This is a song which plays around deliciously with musical pre-conceptions. The chords are dark, the guitars ominous, the vocals hushed and intimate - but it's a threatening, sly intimacy rather than something warm. It's low key under the surface, and yet this is juxtaposed with a relatively bouncy rhythm and pace. There's energy in bucketfuls, but also a striking sense of restraint.
This sets the scene well for the rest of NewDad's debut album: it's not one which is easy to pigeonhole. That's only a good thing in my view. The band have been floating around for several years, offering tantalising glimpses of their style by way of two EPs ('Waves' in March 2021; 'Banshee' in February 2022), as well as subtly but inexorably heightening their profile through festival and radio appearances.
And now, here they are, laying it all out for us.
After this, we enter into a more toned-down vibe. 'Where I Go' feels stretched out, laconic; a bit lanky but striding firmly forwards.
'Change My Mind' picks up the pace subtly, with crisper beats and bubbling bassline, but still with a sense of reflective introspection. Julie's vocals are sweeter, sung with a smile. But it's intense nevertheless. The straight-down-the-line lyrics flow relentlessly, with phrases coming through the resonant waves of sound.
"Slip into the same old habits
And I can sense the madness creeping its way back in.
Or maybe it's just waking
Maybe it never left ..."
Then, on 'In My Head', Julie sings:
"See it's easy for you
It's easy for you to forget
Because you're not in my head"
This marriage of poignantly intense, struggling lyricism with bouncing and melodic musicality is what NewDad prove themselves particularly adept at on 'Madra'. For many, records like this will be a lifeline. We are told it's good to talk, it's good to share our feelings, but not everyone likes to do that (or not in the same way) particularly with some of the subjects NewDad are exploring. For some, listening to music brings a matchless sense of intimacy and togetherness. This is the kind of album which feels like a companion, close and embracing.
After another slower but soaring track ('Nosebleed'), 'Let Go' feels stately and careful, making progress but with strong echoes of the first track with its ominous bass direction. It opens to discordant guitar riffs, sometimes fuzzy, then crunchy, reaching for heights of clamorous grunge. You'll want to tease the volume knob upwards here.
The energy continues on 'Dream of Me', and then we're thrown into an abyss with the arrival of 'Nightmares', a shifty, uneasy track conjuring exactly what the title suggests. It exits with a jagged, stuttering feel, but also with an infectious 80s club feel.
After that, 'White Ribbons' is a soothing hand on the forehead - the curation of this album has been nicely done. "It's so pretty how you fix me every time" the band say, following a declaration of guilt as well as gratitude. Then we're led to the exit with the title track. The name means "dog", perhaps reflecting the concept of the "black dog" of depression - a familiar but dark friend, always lurking. "And even if it's temporary / It feels nice to be a little empty" ...
The song, and the album, plays out with strength, backed by a head-noddingly firm rhythm; and yet the words being repeated and repeated are "And I'm low" ...
There can be pleasure in pain, catharsis, comfort in sharing tough feelings. Let this record help you do that.
Full track list
Angel
Sickly Sweet
Where I Go
Change My Mind
In My Head
Nosebleed
Let Go
Dream Of Me
Nightmares
White Ribbons
Madra
NewDad are Julie Dawson (vocals, guitar), Sean O'Dowd (guitar), Cara Joshi (bass), Fiachra Parslow (drums). You can follow the band in the usual places, including via their website, Instagram, X, YouTube and Soundcloud.