Squarehead have been patient. Their debut album ‘Yeah Nothing’ was recorded for the most part late last year, between September and December up in the K9 studios. They’ve tweaked some things since then, but in reality this album is nearly a year old. Not that it sounds dated – indeed this album’s release (digital at least) has come at a perfect time. Summery, but with a pinch of remorse and a sense of longing, Yeah Nothing encapsulates that end of summer feeling all too well. Bizarre then to think it was recorded when the Squarehead lads were up to their arses in snow.
Opening with recent single Midnight Enchilada, Yeah Nothing starts on an assured note. It’s a restrained burst of joy, which offers a first glimpse of the simple, but brilliant musicianship on offer throughout the album. And that’s before we get to the fact that it is as catchy as crabs in Copper Face Jacks of a Friday. Rather than itching for weeks afterwards, though, Squarehead’s debut will leave you with no more than a persistent smile afterwards.
Indeed, there a few Irish albums out there who satisfy as easily as Yeah Nothing does. It’s the Richter Collective’s treat for all those more difficult, albeit brilliant, albums they have released. Each song is seemingly built around a chorus that will eat at your brain for days. Circles is a case in point; guaranteed to be hummed unknowingly potentially days after exposure. However strip back these aural treats and Roy Duffy has penned some beautiful and genuinely touching lyrics, let alone interesting concepts. Honestly, how many pop songs do you know that deal with the Freudian concept of free mind drawing?
Elsewhere on the album, Save Yourself sees the Only Fools and Horses theme tune reworked to great effect and Get Light acts as a perfect downer to the bubbly, euphoric songs either side of it. Live favourite Fake Blood has been polished up also, since it’s inclusion on the first Popical Island compilation. The guitars ring more crisp than before and Roy Duffy’s vocal delivery is more engaging, thought still beautifully apathetic.
If there is one fault with Yeah Nothing however, it is that perhaps that it is too short. Clocking in at just over 35 minutes, Yeah Nothing is undoubtedly short and sweet, but it could have benefited from one more track. Fear Your Face and Abandoned Sea for example, have almost identical intros and are placed side by side. But this is a minor aside to what is one of the Irish albums of the year.
Yeah Nothing is available now digitally via the Richter Collective web store and will be physically released on September 19th.