Amidst 2025’s exciting alternative rock scene, Irish trio NewDad released their second studio album on September 19, Altar. Expanding on punk and soft rock elements from their first studio album Madra, the band also pulls from shoegaze with the explosive, distorted guitars and airy vocals that build the new record’s atmosphere.
Altar primarily serves as a tribute to NewDad’s Ireland hometown, Galway, with its gloomy weather and quiet lifestyle. After the 2024 release of their debut studio album Madra resulting in their quick rise to popularity, the band promptly relocated to London to pursue music as a full time gig. NewDad saw an opportunity and knew they had to seize it. In hindsight, the band now regrets this sudden and drastic change in scenery, stating in an interview with NME how they would have enjoyed staying home and focusing on enriching their local rock scene. Altar is a simultaneous homage to Ireland and an expression of homesickness and nostalgia, all over the span of 12 tracks.
NewDad’s Madra took alternative rock by storm with its explosive sound and unapologetic lyrics. The band was influenced by artists like The Pixies, The Cranberries, and Oasis, which shaped lead singer and rhythm guitarist Julie Dawson’s childhood. Altar is showing a departure from the heavier punk inspiration, instead borrowing elements from shoegaze and dream-pop, with most of the tracks more reminiscent powerful ballads seeping with raw emotion. It’s an interesting direction for the band to take their sound in, and it also bodes well with the themes of melancholy and reflection.
From the very first track “Other Side”, the lyrics already express these deep emotions that permeate the album, as Julie Dawson sings about a noisy place that is killing her dreams and not letting her go. Accompanying Dawson’s soft melodies are simple synths, reminiscent of a lullaby, that build up to a thrilling beat drop with lead guitarist Sean O’Dowd and drummer Fiachra Parslow joining in. The song masterfully sets the tone for the rest of the record. “Heavyweight” maintains a steadier tempo while Dawson scornfully croons about the music industry, which drove the band away from home and thrust them into that harsh reality very early into their career, dripping with cynicism.
The next track “Pretty” is a dreamy and melodic serenade that really hones in on Galway as the band’s muse: “His medicine has me hypnotized. You look so nice like a dream, swear on my life”. In the following track “Roobosh”, perhaps the most electric song on the album, Dawson’s booming vocal performance during the chorus is perfectly accompanied by her and O’Dowd’s hypnotizing guitar riffs. Parslow’s drumming is also on point, which, along with the other elements, emphasize the track’s vindictive and vitriolic energy.
“Misery” offers a darker, meaner atmosphere with distorted, grungy guitars and a loaded instrumental. Dawson’s vocals demonstrate pure, raw emotion from someone who is deeply familiar with misery and the nasty way she makes her way into our lives. “Sinking King of Feeling” and “Puzzle” are both tracks that expand on the homesickness of the album, exploring somber feelings of misplacement, unworthiness, and inadequacy. The ballads, with soft, luscious sounds offer evocative imagery and highlight the melancholy that permeates the record. Sounds start to blend together and perhaps the band tried to become a little too cohesive. However, the instrumentation is consistently easy on the ears, despite the air of monotony.
“Entertainer” is reminiscent of “Sickly Sweet” from the band’s debut album with the guitar riffs. The beat and instrumentation, as well as Dawson’s wildly entertaining vocals illustrate NewDad’s signature sound. “Everything I Wanted” perfectly encapsulates the album’s main thesis of homesickness. After their experience abroad, NewDad realized they had fallen into the trap of jumping ship too early and yearned for their hometown, which they now know could have harbored their dream. The layered soundscape cushions Dawson’s vocals as she introspectively warbles: “I tell myself that it’s everything I wanted/ Lost myself in this city”. The following two tracks “Mr Cold Embrace” and “Vertigo” are also about Galway which, to the band, evokes nostalgia and regret, with airy guitars and hauntingly beautiful vocals. The album ends on a somber note with “Something’s Broken”, as Dawson sings of feeling terrible sadness and fear and looking for intimacy as a way to cope and forget it all.
Overall, Altar is a beautifully cohesive journey through Galway, the band’s bittersweet relationship with fame, the harshness of the music industry and everything in between. It’s a wonderful album to enjoy as the seasons transition from summer into autumn, with delicate guitars and catchy melodies that solidify the band as one of the best current alternative rock artists. Now, with their new tour around Europe and their freshly announced festival appearance at Primavera Sound ‘26, I’m excited to see what’s next for NewDad.
