West Irish avant-punks Nerves return with ferocious new single and video “Dirty Fingers”
Headline show at Whelan’s April 25th
Nerves by Erin Plaice
Following the critical acclaim of their 2024 EP Glórach, West-Irish noise-punk outfit Nerves emerge from the wreckage with their most sonically volatile and emotionally bare release to date: “Dirty Fingers”, a frantic new single and accompanying video that once again sees the band collaborate with producer Daniel Fox (Gilla Band).
“Dirty Fingers” sees Nerves delve headfirst into their industrial undercurrent, carefully balancing volatility with razor-edged focus. Blistering rhythms and serrated guitars lurch under stark, exposed vocals in a track that feels like it’s constantly teetering on the edge of implosion – a sound the band have weaponised with increasing precision.
“With ‘Dirty Fingers’ we wanted to come out of the gates with something that was fast, intense and sonically overwhelming,” says frontman Kyle Thornton. “We feel that our first EP was the sound of the band finally hitting upon a sound and style that we could move forward with, and this next batch of music coming this year is us doubling down on every aspect of our sound. ‘Dirty Fingers’ is the abrasive, danceable and industrial side of this band taken to its extreme, with the added vulnerability of starting a tune with just vocals, something which freaked me out enough at the time that I knew it was probably a good idea.”
Lyrically, the track wrestles with personal collapse and the slippery process of trying to rebuild – its feverish intensity reflecting a psyche at war with itself, reeling from substance-induced ruin while clawing toward redemption. “Dirty Fingers” doesn’t offer a resolution, only the desperate momentum of someone sprinting from the wreckage they helped create.
The song is accompanied by a visually arresting black-and-white video directed by the band’s bassist Ryan Mortell, delving into Ireland’s folk horror roots, directed with a cinematic flair that nods to The Wicker Man, The VVitch and Kill List. Set against a stark and spectral Irish backdrop, the video follows a lone figure through a liminal, almost otherworldly space. Mortell explains:
“I wanted to explore this idea that the open, barren landscape of Ireland in itself plays a character, almost engulfing everything within it. Dense forest, abandoned stone towers and hillsides stripped bare by the elements all culminate to create this almost ethereal purgatory that our character traverses.”
“Ultimately, the video is about questioning if you can truly ever leave your home, or will there always be a part of you left behind? What demons will pursue you in order for you to accept that home is truly where your heart lies? It’s a fundamental Irish question that we all find ourselves asking in an age of mass emigration.”
Watch the video for “Dirty Fingers” below
Shot in a gritty 1:66 aspect ratio and enhanced by practical effects including prosthetics, puppetry, and stop-motion, the video brings the song’s underlying themes of identity, guilt and escape to visceral life.
Nerves continue to cement their place as one of Ireland’s most uncompromising and exhilarating live bands, following a whirlwind 2024 which saw them tear through high-profile sets at Electric Picnic, Other Voices, Left of the Dial and support slots for the likes of The Jesus Lizard, Maruja and Gurriers. With new music planned across 2025 and more live dates to be announced, “Dirty Fingers” is the sound of a band ready to burn brighter – and darker – than ever before.
LISTEN TO “Dirty Fingers” HERE
“Dirty Fingers” artwork