Welcome 'Ash Red' to Blowtorch Records

Cork trio release their debut single The Stupid Song which is anything but.

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Cork has a long history of producing wildly independent (or wild and independent, whichever you prefer) bands with an influence way beyond The Rebel County. The great outsider Rory Gallagher was a Cork native himself. Nun Attax (who became Five Go Down To The Sea?), Microdisney, Sultans of Ping FC and The Frank and Walters are excellent examplars of the quirky, outsider bands which Cork seems to be able to produce at will.

Indeed of Five Go Down To The Sea? frontman Finbarr Donnelly's eccentric stage persona, The Membranes' John Robb (no shrinking violet himself) said: "Over the years I've heard all manner of tedious bastard bands yapping on about how they broke all the rules and how wild they were – perhaps they never saw Five Go Down to the Sea?"

1980's Kaught At The Kampus live compilation is widely recognised as the kickstarter for any amount of Irish punk/post-punk acts - I urge you to listen and you'll see why the likes of The Murder Capital and Girl Band didn't simply appear from nowhere.

Happily Cork's off-kilter conveyor belt shows no sign of slowing with newer acts such as Happyalone and The Love Buzz. And on that note...

... our current track of the week is The Stupid Song - the debut release from Cork based alt rock band Ash Red. Formed in January 2019, they comprise Conrad Twomey (drums), Arthur Murray (guitar, vocals) and Maciek Zwirkowski (bass).

Arthur sent us a demo recording of the track in the middle of 2020 and the first time I listened, I knew it had 'it'. One of those songs that captures a moment of magic through a slight tear in the sonic universe. Although as they self-deprecatingly relate "Arthur came to practice with the most stupid two note riff we ever heard. As a joke we played and I guess it just worked. The song is about loneliness and desire to be noticed in the world but it’s really not that deep, they are just words."

Now recorded and released it retains that thrilling element I first heard. Play it loud.

And new update - Ash Red release their second single 'Philby' on June 4. Which appropriately is a cover of a Rory Gallagher track.