Post-punk indie goth music blends big-hall reverbs and catchy riffs with a mysterious, intimate and contrastingly distant sense of complex story and sentiment. Ireland’s pMad capture the passion and dreamy grooves of bands like The Cure, only with a clear twist of identity that resounds, for their brand new project 1 + 1 = -1.
Promising lyrics that take on the depths of human existence, 1 + 1 = -1 is ultimately uplifting in its careful balancing of melancholic realism and passionate musical vibrancy. You only need to hear the single NineFortyFive to appreciate this nuance, with smooth guitar riffs and live drums, echoing old-school vocals that softly enthral, and certain lyrical refrains that linger powerfully after listening.
Eight original songs make up the eclectic and hard-hitting yet catchy new album from pMad. The opener is distinctly heavier than the single, Blood countering a fiercely fast-paced distorted rock pattern with a spacious, again echoing verse, that’s just as introspective and intriguing lyrically.
That’s something pMad achieve well, settling on a space between the deeply profound and even abstract, and that which feels strangely accessible, relatable, like some new clarity emerging; a way of explaining things you hadn’t found a way to before.
Meanwhile the rock riffs roll through, the drums keep that energy and tone sharp and awakening, and the voice haunts, but in a smart and handsome kind of Smiths-esque manner.
“Thrill me, Thrill me, Still me… Death came knocking at my gate… Immortal, forever, forever…”
Dark alternative vibes in strong supply but a beating heart of effective, engaging songwriting always provided as the centrepiece – pMad excel themselves with this album, and NineFortyFive is the fascinating and rather addictive new single that’s easily one of the most interesting, ambient and enjoyable post-rock tracks to hit the scene this year.
Find all things pMad.
