Blowtorch Records' recommendations for ten hot Irish guitar bands to watch in 2025
- Richard Blowes
- Jun 3
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 9
As well as our own bands, we like to keep across what's happening across the 32 counties in our punk/post punk/shoegaze space. Here's our recommendations for the hot Irish guitar bands in 2025.
The Irish new wave is noisy, honest and blasting a DIY path into your speakers.
If you thought the Irish guitar scene peaked with Fontaines D.C. or Just Mustard, think again. 2025 is shaping up to be another boom year for loud, literate and thrilling guitar music covering every corner of the island - from Galway’s garage punk to Belfast’s noisy nihilism via Cork's conveyor belt of talent.
Here’s your essential playlist of the hot new Irish guitar bands worth cranking up in 2025.
Cardinals (Cork)
Cork’s five-piece heart-on-sleeve indie bruisers make music soaked in loss and longing. Think The Vaselines by way of early Suede, but with distinctly Irish poeticism and a box accordion. Their debut EP dropped to critical buzz and a packed-out SXSW set - don’t sleep on this crowd. We saw them in Leeds last month and they were electric. They support Fontaines DC in Finsbury Park this July.
Some Remain (Sligo)
Sligo’s premier alt punks throw out catchy hooks and chaotic noise in their high energy live sets. After a run of brilliant singles, they deliver their debut EP Feel Low in July with the title track out now. As one reviewer had it "... there’s no way to escape the wall-of-pulverising sound you can break concrete with. Spectacular stuff."
Virgins (Belfast)
A fog of fuzz and gravity defying vocals, Virgins mix heavy shoegaze textures with ethereal dream pop. Their debut LP nothing hurt and everything was beautiful sounds like Lana Del Rey invited Smashing Pumpkins and Cocteau Twins round to compare reverb pedals. Through the haze lies salvation in a beautiful cacophony of melody.
Gender Chores (Belfast)
The North of Ireland music scene is exploding. Belfast’s most gloriously confrontational punk trio, Gender Chores tackle sexism, capitalism and casual nonsense with angular riffs and razor-sharp wit. They're DIY to the bone and vital as hell. Riot Grrrl energy meets Northern Irish snarl with some English Teacher thrown in. Irish teacher grrrl.
Sprints (Dublin)
Karla Chubb’s lyrics are all clenched fists and cracked hearts. Their debut LP Letter to Self was in many reviewers top 5 of the year lists and proved they’re not just riding the post-punk wave - they’re steering it into deeper waters. They’re evolving from furious punk to something more nuanced - still angry, just at different things. A must see live.
Cliffords (Cork)
What the fuck is going in in Cork? We like it. This collective brings powerhouse vocals (shoutout Iona Lynch) and killer riffs with the impact and emotional literacy of Wolf Alice. Big feelings, bigger choruses. Cliffords sound like a Radiohead side project that decided to have a bit more craic and be Irish instead. They discuss that very point in this NME interview.
Peer Pleasure (Wexford)
Grimy, loose, and loud, Peer Pleasure are here to make you spill your pint and have a great time doing it. Their live sets are sweaty declarations of chaos, held together with sneering vocals and Stooges-like swagger. Wexford’s sloppiest and most entertaining exports, they describe their sound as "bad men, worse tunes" - it’s sarcastic, naturally. Debut album incoming.
Hotgirl (Dublin)
Messy, melodic, and most addictive, Hotgirl’s EP Blast Off might be the best soundtrack to your emotional breakdown - or your chaotic summer road trip. Drawing influences from '90s grunge and punk to Noughties pop, with joy and rage set to unfiltered, Blast Off is the sound of watching 10 Things I Hate About You with the volume too loud and a sugar rush delirium.
Adore (Galway)
Garage punk for the disillusioned and poetic, Adore makes songs you want to scream in your room at 3am, then apologise to your neighbours. Lara Minchin leads the trio with snarling vocals, sharp songwriting and distorted beauty. Recently departed from Blowtorch Records and headed for the big time with Big Scary Monsters. Have a wonderful time.
Search Results (Dublin)
Dublin-based Search Results provide an alternative take on the current Irish post punk/alt rock scene with their singular yet seemingly unfocused vision on doing what the hell they want. Their debut LP Information Blip was Blowtorch Records' fastest selling vinyl release and they are back now as a duo with their new album Go Mutant. Uncategorisable and insanely good.
Pebbledash (Cork)
The guitar scene in Ireland is so hot it goes up to 11. Incredibly here's another Cork band - Pebbledash's sound has developed and added nuances, layers and richness, like a Munster stew that has been simmering away on the stove and been seasoned with Irish trad, shoegaze, noise rock and an added dash of melancholic swagger. All strained through their own filter of house cladding materials.
One final spin
Ireland’s underground in 2025 is defiantly overground. It’s leaking into indie blogs, BBC playlists, and packed basements across the UK and Europe. Whether it’s the ghostly reverb of Virgins, the righteous fury of Gender Chores, or the deranged punk of Some Remain, these bands are doing what matters: saying something authentic, doing something about it and making it loud.
Support them. Go to their shows. Buy the vinyl. Wear the merch. Tag them in your blurry gig stories. Spotify won’t save rock and roll. You will.
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