New music review with singles from Dead Pioneers and DIVIL
- Julia Mason aka The Decibel Decoder
- 5 hours ago
- 5 min read
Our weekly fix of the best new music as Julia Mason (aka The Decibel Decoder) brings us her new music review with singles from Dead Pioneers Never Alone (feat. The Interrupters) and DIVIL Thanks A Million
Artist: Dead Pioneers feat. The Interrupters
Track: Never Alone
Dead Pioneers, the Indigenous fronted band from Denver, are back with another transmission from their forthcoming album Wagon Burner, due for release 26 June via Hassle Records. Titled Never Alone, the new single features a vocal collaboration with Aimee Interrupter, vocalist for Californian ska-punk sensations, The Interrupters.
“I wish I could express how proud we are about this collaboration, as well as how grateful we are to The Interrupters in their willingness to work with us on this one,” declares frontman Gregg Deal. “In all honesty, this has been in the works in conversation and execution for several years and can’t wait to share the very personal backstory on this.
“The very real and palatable feeling of not belonging and finding solace through music, community and found family is something so many of us can understand on multiple levels. I’m a fan of The Interrupters but also know through their music and first-hand how genuine they are in their mutual feeling and understanding of what this music does.
"Never Alone is a homage to that familiar feeling of finding purpose in one’s self. Finding it through accessible means like music, community and the shared experiences associated with it. To share this with The Interrupters, Aimee, Kevin, Justin and Jesse is a dream. These are four fantastic people that don’t just understand these ideas, but stand by it in their love and compassion for the very human feelings of needing to find your place in the world. We’re super proud to share space with them as family."
"Collaborating with friends is the best thing ever. We are so honoured to be a part of Never Alone with the incredible Dead Pioneers,” says The Interrupters' drummer Jesse Bivona. “We love them so much. This song centres around finding community, enduring hard times and celebrating good times together. Paving our own road and becoming FAMILY. A message that resonates with us deeply and we hope it resonates with you too!"
Never Alone is a life-affirming, rousing, air punching celebration of community and friendship, with Aimee’s vocals adding a deliciously addictive melodic hook to the song’s stomping groove.
“To hear Aimee’s voice in the chorus is overwhelming, to be sure,” says Gregg. “Besides the fact that she has a powerhouse of a voice, I hear the sound of a six-year friendship with Aimee and the Bivona boys with my own family, that predates Dead Pioneers. I am so grateful to this friendship, especially watching Aimee and my oldest kid Sage become close. When we say Never Alone, we mean it, knowing that the band, The Interrupters, are friends, hell, family, that truly believe these things along with us. I’m beyond grateful to share this with them, if not outwardly overwhelmed and emotional by it. What an incredible full circle moment.”
Dead Pioneers Live Dates
July
8 - IE Róisín Dubh, Galway
9 - IE The Workman's Club, Dublin
11 - UK 2000 Trees Festival
12 – UK Liverpool Rough Trade (Co-headline with Petrol Girls)
13 – UK Nottingham Rescue Rooms (Co-headline with Petrol Girls)
14 – UK Brighton Green Door Store (Co-headline with Petrol Girls)
16 - DE Back To The Future Festival
17 - DE Adieu Tristesse Festival
18 - DE Seepogo Festival
19 – DE Essen – Don’t Panic
* * *
Artist: DIVIL
Track: Thanks A Million
DIVIL, a Dublin trio of childhood friends, Danny Dempsey McMahon (vocals), Jocelyn Vance (guitar) and Conor Cusack (bass), release their debut single Thanks A Million and announce their debut EP, DIVIL I, set for release on 19 June.
The band’s story is deeply personal. Spending their childhoods learning instruments together in primary school, the trio had fallen out of touch as adults. They hadn't been in the same room together for nearly a decade, until the night of Danny's father's funeral. Late into the night, Conor watched Danny and Jocelyn sing The Rocky Road to Dublin to close friends and family. Struck by the intensity of their musical bond, he knew that when the time was right, they should write music together.
The following month, Conor is diagnosed with cancer. In the wake of these life-altering events, music becomes their way to reconnect, process grief and lean on each other in ways words alone cannot.
Thanks A Million is the first song they write as DIVIL. The band recalls: “The initial verse riff on the bass came easy, but we just couldn’t figure out a way to turn it into a song. We worked on it for weeks because we knew we had something special, but it just didn't fit together. One night, we tried flipping it around and making the verse the chorus and then wrote a whole new verse part. Then Danny came up with the chorus lyrics & melody, which solidified the song.”
The band adds that the title phrase is unmistakably Irish: "people use it in almost any context. Someone serves you in a shop? 'Thanks A Million'. It reflects the nation’s gentle, people-pleasing humour. Lyrically, the song is about falling into old, predictable habits and the frustration of being stuck in a loop."
Danny explains “The song is about hope in the form of friendship. It’s about your friends checking in to see if you're alright after you’ve been in a self-inflicted depression. I have this image of being stuck in a box bedroom suffering, the door opens with the lads checking that I’m ok. I respond, 'I'll be right here, thanks a million'.”
Speaking on the music video the band said: "The music video was shot by our dear friend and extremely talented director Aoife Leonard, at our old school Mount Temple. Since we hadn't been in the building for over 15 years and it's due to be demolished soon, experiencing old memories there felt quite special and gave the performance an extra sense of gravitas. Our wives and babies were also there on the day, helping, so it felt pretty special and prompted reflection on those who are no longer with us since we left school."
The music video's setting, Mount Temple School has built quite the reputation for its musical alumni over the years, playing host to not only DIVIL, but being the place that U2 formed, as well as Damian Dempsey, Gilla Band, and John Francis Flynn. Musical connections run deep within DIVIL, with bassist Conor Cusack well known in the Irish music scene. He manages Saint Sister and Morgana, is closely involved with Ireland Music Week, and runs Merchy Christmas, an initiative supporting emerging Irish artists with a platform to sell their work. His influence is such that Gilla Band even name-check him on their early EP France 98, in the track That Snake Conor Cusack.
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