Cloakroom Q Release Highly Anticipated New Album – (Irish Alt-rock)
Cloakroom Q are the rarest of rare bands in the modern age, a band that strives for true originality, ignorant of pandering to algorithms and easily categorised genre, they are one of Belfast and Ireland’s most singular voices. Cloakroom Q fly their freak flag boldly. Following on from their 2024 single ‘Nail In Your Head‘ and more recent release ‘Substance’, that caught the sharpened ears of taste makers such as Hot Press, Genuine Irish, The Beat.ie, Uber Rock, Rock N Load, Blowtorch Records and Turn Up The Volume. Cloakroom Q return with their sophomore album ‘Tune You Have to Dance To’, an album that over its 55 minute run time is exhaustive in it’s presentation of ideas. From acoustic ballads to neck snapping heavy metal, to emotional trumpet embellishment to smooth jazz and anime inspired hyper pop. ‘Tune You Have to Dance To’ leaves no stone unturned as Cloakroom Q provide a sonic backdrop to delve into lyrics that address a struggle to accept the world around you, continuing on despite this and a yearning for something that seems perpetually out of reach. A record that has a deep emotional core, albeit sometimes masked by tongue in cheek in jokes or polar changes in style on a dime.
The band formed eight years ago, taking their name from a brawl that erupted in the queue for the cloakroom during a Death Grips show. Comprised of Jared Green on vocals/guitar/keys, Con Coulter on Guitar, Dan Monaghan on bass/trumpet and Danny Havern on Drums.
‘Tune You Have to Dance To’ is bookended by an intro and outro, both the same piece of music but played in different time signatures with different choices of instruments. Neither give an indication of what awaits or has come before, the band say they wanted to capture a whimsical carnival vibe. Into the whimsy we head.
The first single to come off the album ‘Nail In Your Head’ opens proceedings, serving as the first true entry point into the world Cloakroom Q cultivate over the next 55 minutes. The initial salvo of stabs that open the track, give way to a sea-sick rhythm that’s anchored by Dan’s gnarly overdriven bass. Then just as you’re finding your sea legs, the band drop down into smoky lounge act territory. The song seethes with a disturbing calm menace, punctuated by dissonant guitars, the delivery ramps up the sense of disquiet in the track. The syncopation of the vocals, bass and guitars mean that the melody stays with you long after the track ends. Lyrically Jared says the song addresses those in your life that consistently fall short but refuse to change.
Next up is ‘Big Muk (aginawol)’, written in three separate sections the song begins calmy enough. Watery chorus guitar lines, spacey phasers and a sombre trumpet help set the mood, casting a hint of Aladdin Sane era Bowie. As the band join together in staccato stabs, the BPM rises, more pedals are stomped on and a fury is unleashed. Danny’s drums orchestrate changes while driving things forward with a plethora of fills. Just as you think you’re floating calmy back down to earth, cradled by the aforementioned Mr Sane, the uneasy sonic dissonance of a fair ground gone wrong grabs you before spitting you out again into a tunnel of overdriven guitars, fuzz bass and pounding drums. There’s all manner of ear candy here from swirling synths to Tom and Jerry howls and shout outs to close friends.
‘To Dance or Not To Dance’ is the longest track on an album full of tracks not concerned with run time. Clocking in at 16.10 it’s a true sonic journey, one riff leads to the next to the next, there are many horizons to be conquered here. Lyrically the song addresses the struggle of finding your place and the difficult choice of continuing. Cited by the band as one of their most positive songs, reasoning the choice of “dancing” or going on living is the climax of the track. It’s no surprise that a track that would almost fill one side of a record has a multitude of sounds from a choir to a saxophone call and response section inspired by Bach. The band say, “With lyrics like “I’m alive” some could view it as cheesy but sure cheese is unreal.”
‘Held At Night’ leans into some of the more baroque influences for the band. The production and mix across the album is stunning, balancing a myriad of instruments across ever changing song structures and dynamics. One of the sparser songs in terms of instrumentation it’s the mix that captures the dynamics and translates the emotion here. Jared’s vocals croon over the track, embodying a deep sense of longing.
Just at the half point of the album, ‘Perfect Legal to Ruin Your Day’ was recorded live by the band during the album sessions in Analogue Catalogue with Darragh Tibs (Vera/Pillow Queens). Not beholden to a click track, the band let the song dictate any push/pull the parts may need. There’s a magic in giving over to the human touch and not slavishly relying on a click, giving the song a natural pulse according to it’s mood. Lyrically the song dances around from line to line, but draws on the sentiment of having your day ruined from a single silent chance encounter, passing an ex in the street.
Second single from the album is the stripped back ‘Substance‘. ‘Substance’ finds the band exploring an entirely new sonic palette. Originally finding life as an acoustic demo with an odd tuning the song took many forms, before ultimately coming full circle and becoming a largely acoustic based. The track benefits from piano and trumpet embellishment that underpin the emotional weight of the song. The lyrics, written by Danny in this instance, speak of about wanting more in your life feeling unfulfilled, the term substance being a catch all for what makes you happy in life.
Penultimate track ‘Painting My Nails for the Last Time Today’, was written in a 20-minute burst of creativity. Having been attempted in many forms, when it came time to enter the studio the band decided to treat the song in the vein it was written. The trad ballad gives opportunity for a range of additional musicians on the track, bringing back original member Sean Hickey on flute, Dan’s father added fiddle to the track with renowned accordion player Cartiona Ní Ghribín, adding her talents as well as Maire-Thérèse McCartan on harp. The track is imbued with a sense of poignancy, futility and the finality of things. Also featuring Dan’s greatest lyrical achievement to date, rhyming the word “Bar” with “Tullamore”.
Album title track ‘Tune You Have to Dance To’ takes it’s name from a phrase Jared said in reference to expectation dictating you have to do something you don’t want to. Around the time of writing the band say they were all struggling in different ways and it seemed fitting to utter the phrase and keep blasting on. Lyrically the song deals with the sentimental attachment associated with a gift from someone especially if they’ve passed and how losing that can feel like losing a connection.
The outro closes things out with the sense of whimsy the band intended, although it feels wrapped in a sense of melancholy, as though it’s the soundtrack to a sad, silent film. There’s no resolution for the protagonist and no sense of closure for the audience.
The artwork comes from working with Nathan Magee, a world-renowned photographer, who the band choose for his unique way of capturing colour and light. The costumes were dreamt up by Eimear Fox, a costume designer who has worked on Game of Thrones and The Northman. The artwork shows three kings representing birth, life and death and the control they have over a peasant.
Cloakroom Q have a freedom in their approach to music, ‘Tune You Have to Dance To’ is just one such example. The album moves from 70’s hard rock, to lounge jazz, to trad, to funk sometimes all in the same song. Their talent lies in bringing these disparate elements together and make them co-exist in a cohesive song while feeling entirely natural. The level of musicianship is astounding, from multi-instrumentalists within the band to the additional players brought on board. The sonic tapestry woven is vast, dense and complex but always with a melody and hook in mind. The joy here is in the creating and the making, in that there is freedom, unbridled and unconcerned about outside perception. The album has a deep emotional core; loss, struggle, confusion and frustration raise their heads time and time again. Wrung out and made sense of in the music. The rarest of the rare, Cloakroom Q truly make art for themselves, we’re just lucky they share with us.
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