Once again venturing out into Digbeth for a night of good music with friends, XOYO was the venue of choice for the evening. NewDad have quite nicely settled into the UK and Irish scene, especially after their most recent album Altar. Whilst I’ve found the evolution of their music to be somewhat limited, this is most likely due to the small timeframe between Altar and their debut album, MADRA, which was only released last year. I do enjoy their music too – evidently, otherwise I wouldn’t have gone with my limited student funds.

Kicking off the night were fellow Irish band Cardinals, and unfortunately they were a profound disappointment. They seemed to be suffering sound issues, which in itself was irritating, but having seen them at the beginning of the year at King’s Heath’s Hare and Hounds, I can confidently say they haven’t quite cracked performing on larger stages. Back then, they were top-notch – if a little gloomy – but on the larger stage at XOYO they had a rather muted and muddled set – a real shame, especially when compared to the quality of their studio recordings.

Thankfully, once NewDad graced the stage the sound issues had been resolved, and they began the set with Altar‘s introductory tracks: ‘Other Side’, and ‘Heavyweight’. I rate Altar‘s tracks, and my favourite single from the album, ‘Entertainer’, nicely rounded out the beginning of the set. This being said, I felt there was a performance element missing – a thought which persisted throughout the show. The music was great – a high quality sound, NewDad were clearly a tight unit – but there was a definitive lack of showmanship involved; personally, I think NewDad could do with some more crowdwork at their shows to bridge the gap between the stage and the audience.

Slight staleness aside, NewDad did perform extremely well – staple tracks like ‘Sickly Sweet’, ‘Nightmares’, and ‘Angel’ all made an appearance, and went down swimmingly. The slower, more emotive tracks from Altar were definite standouts – ‘Everything I Wanted’, and ‘Sinking Kind of Feeling’ were beautifully displayed on stage, and put the studio recordings to shame – I’ll be reliving those songs when I revisit Altar. These more wistful tracks hit much harder in context with the album’s themes of longing and identity in the band’s move from Galway to London, and has made clear to me how much understanding an artist’s intent enhances the experiences of these songs.

NewDad are definitely a band to delve into for any indie lovers- they have sowed some rich roots, and created a strong foundation to launch themselves from strength to strength. I am hoping for a longer gap between releases than the gap between MADRA and Altar to really develop some new distinctions in the NewDad sound, and perhaps some fine-tuning in their live performances too. Make no mistake though, NewDad are a bastion of potential, and I can’t wait to see where they go next.

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