Nerves share cathartic new single “Don’t Let Go“
EP Iarmhaireacht out 15th August
Nerves by Erin Plaice
Today, West Irish noise-punk quartet Nerves release the final single from their second EP Iarmhaireacht – a haunting, cathartic closer titled “Don’t Let Go”.
Where previous singles “Dirty Fingers” and “Takes A Second” tore through themes of collapse and disintegration, “Don’t Let Go” emerges from the wreckage, emotionally raw and defiantly vulnerable, providing meaning to the EP’s title “Iarmhaireacht” roughly translating to: “the loneliness felt at dawn”. It’s a track that exists in the ghost-space of a relationship’s aftermath, a scream into the void where connection once lived.
Musically, “Don’t Let Go” leans into Nerves’ growing exploration of texture and restraint. Ambient techno pulses throb beneath layers of drone and fractured melody, before expanding into something almost danceable, a shimmering post-rock release that nods to Mogwai at their most emotionally direct. It’s the softest and most open moment on Iarmhaireacht, and also its most devastating.
“The lyrics live in a place of total loss, but there’s something in the music that suggests hope, that maybe things can only get better from here”, says frontman Kyle Thornton. “It’s that final act of denial you make before accepting that something is really over. Or maybe a final act of defiance. It depends how you hear it.”
Listen to “Don’t Let Go” HERE
Download radio edit of “Don’t Let Go” HERE
Iarmhaireacht, produced by Daniel Fox (Gilla Band) and due on the 15th of August, builds on the cultural excavation that Nerves began with 2024’s Glórach. Combining abrasive noise rock with cinematic interludes and archival samples from Irish folklore and media, the project draws a line between the personal and the historical. Each track dives into cycles of mental illness, addiction, grief and loss, not in isolation, but against the backdrop of rural Irish life, where economic stagnation, emigration and cultural trauma still hang heavy.
“Don’t Let Go” is the final page in a diary that wasn’t meant to be shared. Its stark emotional exposure is characteristic of Iarmhaireacht as a whole, a record that finds Nerves not only evolving sonically, but reaching deeper into themselves. From the dissonant rage of “Takes A Second” to the grief-laced ambience of “Don’t Let Go”, the EP cements Nerves as one of Ireland’s most urgent and uncompromising new acts.
Iarmhaireacht album artwork
Iarmhaireacht tracklisting:
Intro
Takes A Second
Dirty Fingers
Through My Chest
Iarmhar
Act of Contrition
Neifinn
Don’t Let Go
Nerves are:
Kyle Thornton – vocals, guitar
Ryan Mortell – bass, backing vocals
Eoin Keigher – guitar
Adam Nealon – drums