Hotly tipped as the most anticipated Irish album of the year? It can only be The Cast of Cheers début, yet not début, ‘Family’. Following on from their now deleted but not forgotten Chariot (it’s owned by their label now, they may or may not have plans for it), The Cast of Cheers have spent the last few months living among the English math rock scene, honing their skills touring, and recording with Luke Smith of Clor as their producer.
To say I’m honoured to be one of the first to get the aural pleasure of hearing the album that confirms The Cast Of Cheers as one of the best things to come out of Ireland is far from an over statement. From the first listen to the fifth, Family defines itself as a solid album throughout, for the life of me I still can’t pick a single stand out track, because they are all so good. Clearly fans will be shouting out the lyrics to ‘Animals’ and the title track ‘Family’ if for no other reason than these singles have had growing radio play, but there is not a single track on the record this man can’t dance to.
“How do you feel when your roof is shaking?” is not what you’ll be asking when you turn up the volume to ‘Posé Mit’ as Conor Adams leads you into a dance frenzy. The simplicity and infectious lyric of ‘Human Elevator’ is sure to keep the floor dancing at any gig. Much like Chariot, Family gives the listener ample opportunities to spazz out to jagged guitars and rolling drum beats coupled with aggressively infectious hooks and vocals ranging from minor whispers to throat shredding shouts.
But Family isn’t just full of up tempo, dancey tracks that made Chariot so popular. The Cast of Cheers show they can control their chaos with mid-tempo, somewhat whispering tracks ‘Palace and Run’ and ‘Animals’; sure to suck in a live audience before sending them into more frantic movements with tracks like “They Call it a Race”, “Trucks At Night” and of course fan favourite “Goose”, which receives a reworking for the new album.
To compare The Cast of Cheers to other bands such as Foals, Battles or even Vampire Weekend (Marso Sava) is a lazy solution, some refusing to look beyond the influences. I would instead focus on hearing how these four guys from Swords have created a sound of their very own, that is uniquely them.
Family is probably going to be one of the most talked about albums this year, and next year, and so on until The Cast of Cheers graces us with their third instalment of robot rock. If it’s not the impressive vocal arrangements, the jagged guitar with the pulsing effects pedals behind them or the beautifully rhythmic beats that draw you in, it will be Family’s ability to just make you get up and enjoy yourself.