LIMERICK Indie-Rockers Dylan Flynn and the Dead Poets have dropped their new EP ‘I’ve Been Living Life The Wrong Way’ And will celebrate the release with a performance at Dolan’s Warehouse this Saturday November 22 as part of their biggest UK and Ireland tour to date.
The EP was recorded and self-produced in the band’s small home studio in Limerick City, with long term collaborator Mike Gavin (Windings). Mike co-produced and mixed the track, while Richard Dowling (Foo Fighters, Brian Eno, Villagers) mastered it.
Opening track ‘Forgiveness Is A Gun’, released over the summer, sets an upbeat tone with driving drums and sax hooks reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen’s 1970s output.
The song explores a narrator’s feelings of inadequacy in his relationship, though Flynn’s vocals and The 1975-esque production give it a contemporary edge.
“I spent some time in Nashville earlier this year, and this song was written while I was there,” Flynn explains. “It was my first experience co-writing, and it made me realise that sometimes you just need to say exactly what you’re feeling.”
The EP’s folk-rock leanings emerge on ‘Lately’, where jangly guitars and melancholic lyrics examine life’s moral ambiguities. Tom Petty and John Mellencamp comparisons abound, with Flynn noting the track evolved slowly after completing the band’s last album: “I used to play it in soundcheck on our last tour. It’s been through a few changes and re-works, but I love what we landed on.”
The emotional centrepiece arrives with ‘Turn The Page’, released in October, a heart-wrenching ballad featuring pedal steel guitar interwoven with saxophone lines. Flynn confronts his father’s ageing with raw vulnerability: “No one ever wants to think about their parents passing, but it’s an inevitability. Even though this song is deeply sad and tough for me to sing, it’s one I’m really proud of.”
The EP concludes with its title track, ‘I Love You (But You’re Breaking My Heart)’, a bittersweet ode to Flynn’s hometown of Limerick that wrestles with belonging and displacement.
DF&TDP craft songs from the heart. The Limerick outfit aim for pure communication through surging indie-rock with pop openness – widescreen yet down-to-earth musicality that’s viral in appeal whilst remaining DIY in origin.
Following a summer of festivals and outdoor shows across the UK and Ireland, including support slots with Kingfishr and The Darkness, the Irish group have built considerable momentum. They appeared at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, in March and have sold out venues across Britain and Ireland over the past year.
At times they recall the bluster of The War on Drugs or the vitality of Gang of Youths; there’s a nod to Radiohead’s raw emotion or Springsteen’s surging passion – with songs speaking to twenty-somethings living in a country that completely ignores them.
Music publications including Clash Magazine, Hot Press and The Thin Air have featured their work, whilst a standout performance at Electric Picnic Festival’s Electric Arena have proven their live prowess.