Raglans Sign with London-based Label Fierce Panda
“The strongest, most self-assured band in years…They have ‘world beaters’ written all over them.” – Hot Press
Raglans have signed with London’s fierce panda, the label responsible for signing acts such as Coldplay, Supergrass, Keane, Placebo, Embrace and more. The band are set to release their boisterous brand new ‘Again & Again’ EP on 14 October to coincide with a generous two month-long Autumnal run of live shows across Europe including Dublin’s Button Factory on 14 October.
“London-based loafer label fierce panda is delighted to announce the signing of Raglans to the roster. The boys have put in a terrific amount of work to get themselves this far in terms of releases and touring and we’re looking forward to helping them build on those great endeavours with the release of the passionately hyperactive ‘Again & Again’ EP next month.”
Raglans are four feisty alt rock dreamers from Dublin. They consist of Stephen Kelly (lead vocals, guitar), Rhos Horan (bass, backing vocals), Conn O’Ruanaidh (drums, backing vocals) and Brendan McGlynn (lead guitar, backing vocals) and they take their name from a poem by Patrick Kavanagh.
If the circumstances surrounding your birth can define what happens for the rest of your life then the story that Raglans actually formed in a music festival tent was surely an indication of what their future held, for theirs is a rowdy, crowd-teasing musical tumult, all muscular new wave guitars, gritty pop (aka Gritpop) melodies and suitably ragged epic glories.
Recorded in Los Angeles with Jason Wade and Chris Murguia (Lifehouse) and mixed by Chris Sheldon (Foo Fighters, Biffy Clyro), ‘Who Knows’ and the other four tracks on ‘Again & Again’ present an ever-more expansive Raglans roar, retaining the ferocious fist-in-the-air glory of their self-titled top 5 debut album while adding pathos-laden power balladry with ‘War Torn’ and ‘Claire’. It’s an emotional, energetic sound which reflects the life of a band who have been travelling the world, getting up and getting down – like their distant touring brethren Catfish & The Bottlemen and The Sherlocks Raglans are rugged road troopers, touring like there’s no tomorrow. Or at least no tomorrow without another service station pasty, another empty, echoing soundcheck and another sweetly sweat-soaked show to pile on through…
“All the songs on ‘Again & Again’ were written in the last two years so they are all informed by what’s been going on in my life and in the life of the band,” explains singer Stephen. “‘Who Knows’ is the perfect example of this: the lyric is about juggling two important relationships, one with a person and one with a group of fellas you travel around the world with in a van, and the uncertainly that comes with each and the pressure they put on each other. Then, being in Paris on tour and visiting the grave of Oscar Wilde gave me the perspective I needed to finish the song. The verses were the question, the chorus became the answer.”
The past? Well now let us tell you about the past. Two years ago they released their debut album, the succinctly-titled ‘Raglans’, which spawned the tracks ‘Natives’, ‘Before Tonight’ and ‘White Lightning’. Those tracks garnered radio support from Huw Stephens, Dermot O’Leary, Phil Taggart and Alice Levine, earned live supports with Haim, The Fray, The Strypes and Twin Atlantic as well as The Libertines in Hyde Park and generally saw the quartet having more fun than a meerkat on a mountain bike.
Now come join the Raglans joyride at these dates here, here and here:
OCT 07 REVELATIONS / CORK, IE
OCT 08 FUSION, DROGHEDA, IE
OCT 14 THE BUTTON FACTORY / DUBLIN, IE
OCT 15 KAVANAGHS / PORTLAOISE, IE
OCT 16 THE INSTITUTE / BIRMINGHAM, UK
OCT 17 THE BODEGA / NOTTINGHAM, UK
OCT 18 THE ROCKING CHAIR / SHEFFIELD, UK
OCT 19 KING TUTS / GLASGOW, UK
OCT 20 NIGHT & DAY / MANCHESTER, UK
OCT 22 WEST END CENTRE, ALDERSHOT, UK
OCT 23 JOINERS / SOUTHAMPTON, UK
OCT 24 THE BORDERLINE / LONDON, UK
OCT 25 THE PORTLAND ARMS / CAMBRIDGE, UK
OCT 27 TOWER / BREMEN, DE
OCT 28 EULENGLUK / BRAUNSCHWEIG, DE
OCT 29 THE TUBE / DUSSELDORF, DE
OCT 31 MOLOTOW / HAMBURG, DE
NOV 01 AUSTER CLUB / BERLIN, DE
NOV 02 BACKSTAGE / MUNICH, DE
NOV 03 VIADUKT – BOGEN F / ZURICH, CH
NOV 04 KELLERCLUB / STUTTGART, DE
NOV 05 NACHTLEBEN / FRANKFURT, DE
NOV 19 MAKE THE PIES / KERRY, IE
DEC 03 ROISIN DUBH / GALWAY, IE
DEC 08 PATRONAAT / HAARLEM, NL
DEC 09 SO WHAT! / GOUDA, NL
www.fiercepanda.co.uk
