Walking On Cars: Chatting to the Rising Stars of Irish Music

Ireland’s Walking On Cars are, to break out the superlative, rising stars of that most meteoric strain. Early learnings as a small town band gave way to singles hits, a major record deal and the cusp of genuine international superstardom. Recently they’ve been on tour with The Kooks, and I caught up with them backstage before their sold out Newcastle show.

The setting was simplistic. Myself and guitarists Dan Devane and Paul Flannery, holed up in a small dressing room at Newcastle’s O2 Academy, the unmistakable sound of The Kooks’ soundcheck in the background. The rest of the band had nipped off to eat, constraints on their time high due to press demand from all directions plus the usual rigours of a national tour.

But no matter. Even with this makeshift duo I’d have all the fruity scoops I’d need.

“Describe our music in one word? That’s a very hard question. Banana?”

It was a tough line of enquiry. After all, how can one word sum up a band that combine great pop hooks and an aptitude for the anthemic with skilled pianism and a sound that straddles the line between pop and rock music?

Dan would eventually settle for “real”, and it’s hard to argue with that.

“We listen to so many different types of music, and we’re all creating and writing the songs,” Dan explained. “We take small things from everywhere and put it all together, pulling in elements from all of our different backgrounds and influences so it kind of makes the songs original.”

Dan and Paul, along with heartthrob frontman Patrick Sheehy, female pianist Sorcha Durham and drummer Evan Hadnett, formed Walking On Cars in 2010. Helped along by a mutual interest in surfing, the foundations were laid years before, within the confines of a cosy community of 2,000 people on the west coast of Ireland.

“We all sort of grew up together, in a small town called Dingle,” reminisced Dan. “We got together and started writing songs just after college.

“Things weren’t amazing in Ireland at the time, it was difficult to get work and what not,” he elaborated, with reference to the economic crisis at the end of the last decade. “So we just said we’d put a band together, get some songs together, and now we’re here!”

If the revelation that unemployment woe played a part in Walking On Cars’ formation is a revelation, it does not show in their relentless commitment to the cause. Aware of their own potential, the quintet quickly rented a house together, working on their well-polished sound around the clock.

It was a time of great sacrifices. Patrick dropped out of college to focus on the band, an all-or-nothing move that made them even more keen to fulfill their goals. Finances were tight, but any profits weren’t for keeps.

“Everything went back to the band,” said Dan. “Now we take a small amount, just to keep us going, but most goes back still and we’re 100% committed to it.”

It took until 2013 for the hard work to reap major dividends, in the form of debut single “Catch Me If You Can”. Still Dan’s personal favourite – he “loves the piano intro” – it picked up radio support before stunning the Irish music industry by reaching number twenty-seven in the Official Singles Chart that spring.

“We were probably the only independent Irish band in the charts at that time,” glowed Dan.

The momentum roared on from there. Two more singles hit the charts, the latter – “Tick Tock” – breaching the top-ten in December of that year. They also topped the iTunes Chart and appeared on The Late Late Show. For some bands this would allow egos to soar, but Dan and Paul remain modest about their achievements.

“It was good,” they agreed humbly, referring to the publicity and how it changed their lives at the time. “It was kind of weird at the start, hearing our songs on the radio, but now we’re a little bit used to it. It gave us a lot of exposure.”

Exposure that meant that their recent EP Hand In Hand was not an independent release at all, as their unprecedented success had led to interest from and their eventual signature with juggernaut major Virgin EMI.

But the litmus test will be their new single. “Always Be With You”, set for release on December 8th, should be the first indicator as to whether their undoubted appeal in Ireland can translate to the United Kingdom and further afield.

“‘Always Be With You’, it’s quite an engaging song,” said Dan. “It’s a little bit different for us, a little less pop and just sort of bare for us, you know?

“I think the vocals and the piano really stand out on this song, and I think it was important to put that to the forefront because it’s quite an emotional song.”

But is it their best song so far, a portfolio opener that shows exactly how far they’ve come since their first fledging steps as a band four years ago?

“It’s the most fun to play live,” suggested Paul, with an air of diplomacy. But Dan was more certain. “Yeah, I think it is.”

Above all else, our brief but revealing chat revealed one thing: Live shows and the art of touring are what they really live for. Newcastle was their fourth tour stop, the band’s first visit to the city, Dan gushing about the excitement of the high street as only a tourist would.

With the live show to follow, we touched upon the Walking On Cars sound and how they might seem as a live act. Are they an unashamed pop band, or do they consider themselves to be accessibly rock? Perhaps both?

“You know, pop-rock is such a void,” Dan intimated. “I think we like to do things a certain way in the studio, and when we play live it’s just kind of a bit more edgy?”

“In the recordings, we’d be more pop, but live I think we’re more of a rock band,” confirmed Paul.

As we finished our conversation, remarking upon the finer details of the future – a European tour is a goal, and a music video for “Always Be With You” will appear close to the release date – I asked Dan and Paul what they would consider to be the one thing that everybody should know about Walking On Cars.

“We do good shows?” suggested Paul. Dan mirrored him. “We love to play live.”

A little over three hours later, I’d be able to put such bold claims to the test, as I attended their packed-out gig at the O2 Academy to see if Dingle’s finest could walk the walk that Dan and Paul had so eagerly talked.

Supporting a major band such as The Kooks on tour is a sure-fire way to ruin a lesser band. Outside of the venue promotional girls handed out cards offering a free Walking On Cars download, advertising to a queue that had largely never heard of them. Many didn’t seem to care – they’d need to be won over.

Stage time arrived, and Walking On Cars opened with the infectious energy of “Tick Tock”, the alternative edge that Dan and Paul had described quickly apparent when compared to the source material. The set would then rattle through their small back catalogue, their new single, and one other upcoming track.

Their impressive performance revealed what many have already identified: Walking On Cars are the complete package. Patrick Sheehy’s good looks and stage presence, combined with his strong vocals – even if he does sound eerily like Charlie Simpson – fronted a set with an in-vogue sound that won over a skeptical crowd and kept everyone engaged for thirty minutes.

There was one flaw. Sorcha Durham, so often a star turn on piano on Walking On Cars’ recordings, was demoted to extra, her parts significantly less prominent and at times close to invisible. Given her core role in their studio sound, this is surprising, although may be due to the limitations of the live arena.

Walking On Cars closed with “Catch Me If You Can”, still their best song despite it being their debut single, before leaving the stage to rapturous applause. An interval would follow, before headline act The Kooks appeared for their lengthy performance.

To casual followers of British music, The Kooks could seem like a throwback to 2006. After all, following that hugely successful year their prominence in the mainstream has steadily declined. But their music is still constructed to a high standard. New album Listen, released in September, shows maturity and development and will be supported by shows as far afield as Mexico.

It’s also apparent that their music has transcended generations, as a surprising number of teenage girls were in attendance. So it was understandable that their arrival on-stage was greeted by piercing screams, of the type more commonly associated with teenybopper boy bands.

The Kooks’ extended set was played out amidst a selection of retro-styled television props, which intermittently featured video loops as well as close-up feeds of the band with filters more commonly seen on Instagram than the O2 Academy stage. Luke Pritchard, significantly more groomed than in recent years, looked fresh-faced, and the band as a whole had fun with their performance.

Given that the tour is in support of Listen, it was no surprise that much of the set was focused on its contents, as Luke and the band worked through just about every song from the eleven-track feature. Old favourites also had a place, while Luke played two songs on his own as the rest of the band took a breather, flaunting his new-found aptitude for piano.

Many of their new offerings, such as “Forgive and Forget”, received strong reactions, although some of the album filler was less devotedly heard. But the best response was saved for the classics. “She Moves In Her Own Way” particularly was performed to a cacophony of feminine noise. A three-track encore added gloss, closing with their iconic hit “Naïve”.

This was an energetic and entertaining performance from a band that clearly still have the live music bug, joking on stage and lapping up the adoring response of a crowd of fans both old and new. They’re a live band thoroughly worth checking out, because as other bands from their era reach or have reached the end of their shelf life, they remain relevant and passionate as performers.

For The Kooks, this was another show on another tour. For Walking On Cars, this is the beginning, and although they came into the show as support they left it, in my mind, as equals. It’s entirely plausible that, with the backing they have, they could be soon headlining such sold-out shows of their own.

Walking On Cars release their new single “Always Be With You” on December 8th. They’re also playing three dates as headliners in the UK at the end of this month, in London, Glasgow and Manchester, while their tour with The Kooks continues until the 22nd of November. Make sure to check them out, because judging from their journey so far, you’ll be hearing much more from them very soon.

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All photography by Cubesedge for KatyBlackwood.co.uk/WithGuitars.