Virgins Release Previously Unreleased Song and Announce UK Tour

In April this year Virgins released their album ‘nothing hurt and everything was beautiful’ through Blowtorch Records. The album was met with significant critical acclaim from both fans and media alike. Hot Press heralded them as ‘The most promising fuzz guitar band since My Bloody Valentine’ and The Last Mixed Tape said, “A band I adore, the album has moments of transcendence”. This led to an invite for a live session for Stephen McAuley on BBC Radio Ulster and to play Stendhal Festival. Along with headlining shoegaze festival, GazeFest, including the sold-out Belfast date in Oh Yeah Centre (300 cap). The album was recently nominated for Album of the Year in the NI Music Prize.

Now the band are about to head out on a UK tour in support of the album, including two shows at the respected Other Voices festival in Wales. To help mark the occasion the band have decided to re-release a previously unreleased track ‘g l i s s’. The band say, “’g l i s s’ was the first track written after the EP, so it acts as the bridge between what came before and what would then turn into the album”. The track was previously only available as part of the vinyl pre-order for the album. The track bears all the trademarks of Virgins; walls of gargantuan fuzz, euphoric shimmering guitar leads and ethereal vocals that guide the listener through the hazy sanctuary.

Catch the band live:

01.11.24 Other Voices, Cardigan, Wales

02.11.24 Other Voices, Cardigan, Wales

12.11.24 Audio, Glasgow

13.11.24 The New Adelphi, Hull

14.11.24 The Black Prince, Northampton

15.11.24 Strongroom, London

16.11.24 Saltbox, Nottingham

17.11.24 Sneaky Petes, Edinburgh

Tickets via: https://linktr.ee/bandofvirgins

You can purchase the album via: https://bandofvirgins.bandcamp.com

Full Bio:

Virgins are one of the most exciting bands to come out of Ireland in recent times. A Belfast based shoegaze band that have quickly established themselves as a live force and a rising name locally, nationally and internationally, selling records all over the globe.

Following on from the sold-out pressing (200) of EP ‘Transmit a Little Heaven’ and recent singles ‘s l o w l y, l o n g’ and ‘s o f t e r’, the band’s debut album ‘Nothing Hurt and Everything Was Beautiful’ was released in April 2024 through Blowtorch Records to both fan and critical acclaim, with the pressing of 300 all but sold out already.

“The most promising fuzz guitar band since My Bloody Valentine”

– Hot Press –

The releases have received considerable media and radio coverage; Dan Hegarty, BBC Across The Line, John Baker, Nova Radio and shoegaze radio station DKFM championed the band along with The Last Mixed Tape, Nialler 9, Hot Press, Chordblossom, Golden Plec, The Thin Air, Dig With It and Japan based Portal Zine all showing appreciation. The EP made its way into various end of year lists including Chordblossom’s Top 25 albums and Top 50 songs, Shoegaze Blog Top 20 releases of 2022 and Destroy/Exists Top 10 Ep’s of the year. As well as the Irish Times heralding Virgins as ones to watch in 2024 and Louder highlighting the band as one of the Top 10 Irish Acts you should be listening to in 2024.

2022/23 saw the band complete a 6 date headline UK tour in November 2022 and a short Irish tour in April 2023 in support of their EP. This led to slots at the Button Factory, Dublin (550 cap), Set Theatre, Kilkenny (400 cap) and headline slots at GazeFest in both Belfast and Dublin. The band supported Bleach Lab, Bdrmm and Sign Crushes Motorist on their Irish tours as well as slots with Cherym and New Pagans.

“A band I adore, moments of transcendence”

– The Last Mixed Tape –

The band have spent 2024 playing Irish dates in support of their record including Stendhal Festival, headlining GazeFest in Dublin and Belfast as well as a live session for Stephen McAuley BBC Radio Ulster. The second half of the year will see them play two shows at Other Voices in Wales as well as a week long UK tour in November.

Currently the band have over 77K streams on Spotify alone, a healthy and active social media presence with Irish and UK tour dates in 2024, along with festival appearances in summer. The profile of the band continues to grow and they have a substantial and dedicated fanbase locally, nationally and amongst the wider shoegaze community.

“Very MBV, Virgins come correct with hooky gaze-pop”

– Nialler 9 –

Debut album ‘Nothing Hurt and Everything Was Beautiful’ finds the band exploring a wider sonic palette, seamlessly moving between the gaze-pop of ‘slowly, long’ and ‘disappearer’, to the dance influenced ‘softer’ and to the heavy, expansive and ethereal ‘pale fire’ and ‘tend’. Their captivating sound doesn’t rely on recycling shoegaze tropes but brings a fresh and contemporary approach to the genre.

Press:

“The most promising fuzz guitar band since My Bloody Valentine” – Hot Press

“Very MBV, Virgins come correct with hooky gaze-pop” – Nialler 9

“Shoegaze anthem, cascading guitars consistently creating a beautiful storm” – Golden Plec

“A band I adore, moments of transcendence” – The Last Mixed Tape

“Genre-bending masterpiece” – Rockstar Pod

“Fuzzed out masterpiece” – If It’s Too Loud

‘Deafening dream pop’ – Shoegaze Blog

‘Instant shoegaze classic’ – Static Sounds Club

FOR FANS OF

Nothing, Slow Crush, My Bloody Valentine, Wolf Alice, Slowdive, Bdrmm

Virgins – ‘s o f t e r’ (Official Video)