Disappointment is something we’ve all felt at some point toward someone we care about: that precise moment when we realise our perception of that person was never quite true. Quietly, without ceremony, we come to terms with it and move through a kind of private grieving process. This is the emotional ground THEATRE build on in their debut single, ‘The Fall’, a track that takes us back to that slow, painful realisation.
The Limerick-based quintet sound like a band that has put the work in. Dense, layered guitars create an almost orchestral feel, with textures that recall the shoegaze of My Bloody Valentine, but with a heavier pull toward post-rock, and flashes of the submerged melancholy of Slowdive. At the centre of it all is Maeve O’Shea, whose voice carries a striking emotional directness, at times recalling the intensity of fellow Irish icon Sinéad O’Connor, and anchoring the song throughout.
The lyrics are sparse but direct, which only adds to their impact. The chorus, “When I think of it all / How I gave it all”, says everything it needs to. O’Shea doesn’t just sing it; she commits to it fully, turning those few lines into something raw and disarming.
“’The Fall’ tells the story of a broken friendship, a changeling like person, and the torment that comes with loving someone as toxic as that. Writing the song was the light at the end of the tunnel of a very dark time. Not only was it the first song that people took notice of and that propelled us into gigging full time, it also was the first song that had a fully fleshed theme and story, and it was the first time we realised that a song could metamorphose a negative experience into art.” (THEATRE)
THEATRE already sound like a band with a clear sense of identity. They’re worth paying attention to.
LIVE DATES
5 MAY – Elephant’s Head, London (UK)
6 MAY – The Waterfront Studio, Norwich (UK)*
7 MAY – Hare & Hounds, Birmingham (UK)*
9 MAY – The Road To The Great Escape, Glasgow (UK)
11 MAY – Camden Assembly, London (UK)*
12 MAY – Camden Assembly, London (UK)*
14 MAY – The Great Escape, Brighton (UK)
15 MAY – Supersonic Block Party @ Supersonic, Paris (FRA)
16 MAY – Scala, London (UK)*
18 MAY – Yellow Arch, Sheffield (UK)*
19 MAY – YES (Pink Room), Manchester (UK)*
21 MAY – Whelan’s Upstairs, Dublin (IE)
22 MAY – Mike the Pies, Listowel (IE)
23 MAY – Kasbah, Limerick (IE)
26 JUN – Thomond Park, Limerick w/ Lewis Capaldi (IE)
25 JUL – Deer Shed Festival, Topcliffe (UK)
26 JUL – Truck Festival, Oxfordshire (UK)
29 AUG – Rock N Roll Circus, Sheffield (UK)
*supporting Bleech 9:3
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