The Band: RAGLANS

The Track: ‘TRUE NORTH’

The Label: fierce panda

The Focus Date: DECEMBER 2ND 2016

“The strongest, most self-assured band in years…They have ‘world beaters’ written all over them.” – Hot Press

The Truth: Raglans are four feisty alt.rock dreamers from Dublin. They consist of Stephen Kelly (lead vocals, guitar), Rhos Horan (bass, backing vocals), Conn O’Ruanaidh (drums, backing vocals) and Brendan McGlynn (lead guitar, backing vocals) and they take their name from a poem by Patrick Kavanagh . Happily, their boisterous ‘True North’ track, impacting on fierce panda on December 2nd, appears towards the climax of a generous two month-long run of live shows across Europe, as per the dates below. Watch the hypercolours of the ‘True North’ video via the Golden Plec site here: https://www.goldenplec.com/videos/raglans-true-north-2/

If the circumstances surrounding your birth can define what happens for the rest of your life then the story that Raglans actually formed in a music festival tent was surely an indication of what their future held, for theirs is a rowdy, crowd-teasing musical tumult, all muscular new wave guitars, gritty pop (aka Gritpop) melodies and suitably ragged epic glories.

‘True North’ is from Raglans’ new ‘Again & Again’ EP, which was recorded in Los Angeles with Jason Wade and Chris Murguia (Lifehouse) and mixed by Chris Sheldon (Foo Fighters, Biffy Clyro). The five EP tracks capture an emotional, energetic sound which reflects the life of a band who have been travelling the world, touring like there’s no tomorrow. Or at least no tomorrow without another service station pasty, another empty, echoing soundcheck and another sweetly sweat-soaked show to pile on through…

The past? Well now let us tell you about the past. Two years ago they released their debut album, the succinctly-titled ‘Raglans’, which spawned the tracks ‘Natives’, ‘Before Tonight’ and ‘White Lightning’. Those tracks garnered radio support from Huw Stephens, Dermot O’Leary, Phil Taggart and Alice Levine, earned live supports with Haim, The Fray, The Strypes and Twin Atlantic as well as The Libertines in Hyde Park and generally saw the quartet having more fun than a meerkat on a mountain bike. Now come join the Raglans joyride at these dates here, here and here:

NOV 19 MAKE THE PIES / KERRY, IE
DEC 03 ROISIN DUBH / GALWAY, IE
DEC 08 PATRONAAT / HAARLEM, NL
DEC 09 SO WHAT! / GOUDA, NL
DEC 10 NAXT /ALMELO, NL
DEC 11 WATERHOLE / AMSTERDAM, NL
DEC 12 CAFÉ CAFÉ / HASSELT, BE
DEC 16 KILFINANE / LIMERICK, IE
DEC 17 THE GRAND SOCIAL / DUBLIN, IE

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