Cloakroom Q Release Stripped Back Single ‘Substance’ (Irish Alt Rock)
Following on from their 2024 single ‘Nail In Your Head‘ that caught the sharpened ears of taste makers such as Hot Press, Rock N Load, Blowtorch Records and Turn Up The Volume. One of Belfast’s most unique voices Cloakroom Q return with a new, stripped back single ‘Substance‘. Eschewing the jazz-metal- lounge-act apocalypse of the previous single, ‘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, including an up tempo classic rock inspired track, but the band felt it could be more, the songs journey echoing the lyrical sentiment of the song. 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.
The polar nature of the songwriting between the singles showcases the breadth of Cloakroom Q’s ability. Expanding the instrumentation and approach here takes them far beyond the more traditional rock band. On hand to help capture and nuture these ideas was Darragh Tibbs, responsible for engineering, producing and mixing the track. The band decamped to Analogue Catalogue, a residential studio in Raithfriland, to record. The isolation the studio affords allowed the band to focus on the recording process and exploring the songs. In the bands own words: “Darragh really helped us find this song, we really didn’t think it would sound like this on the first day of recording. Analogue’s spectacular baby grand piano adds so much to this song despite not being a large part in the instrumentation.”