Released in April, ‘Fall Back’ more than announced Florence Road onto the indie-rock scene, with their catchy clap-along choruses (‘Goodbye’), folk-tinged ballads (‘Caterpillar’), and ability to create a grunge-rock anthem (‘Figure It Out’) pointing to an outfit already fully in control of their facets and proving they can do it all. You just need to sit back and watch. Thinking back to the mixtape’s release, Lily says: “We wanted to record and release music for such a long time that to actually have it out in the world is amazing. We put everything into it; we felt like it was something really special. We’re glad that people resonated with it!” Hannah nods: “It’s heartwarming for sure. It’s like sending your child out into the world, so you’re so anxious for it to do well. I was maybe surprised at how well ‘Figure It Out’ did because it was on the rockier side of things for us, and it was literally made with just the four of us recording in the shed. There was no massive production.” “It’s good that it was one of our rock songs that did well,” Lily adds, “because that’s who we are at our core, really.” As if proving that point, their latest single ‘Miss’ journeys from visceral, boygenius-esque opening into a fully fledged arena-rock anthem, replete with taunting ad-libs, crunchy layered riffs, and an aura that wouldn’t feel out of place at a hard rock show. Not only that, but it paves the way for their as-yet-unreleased follow-up, ‘Storm Warnings’. A track that swirls and spirals, building into a delightfully disorientating alt-rock-slash-trad-folk tune that harks back to their homeland while also looking steely-eyed and bloody-mindedly toward the future. “We wrote it in the first batch of songs that we wrote together, the same time as ‘Figure It Out’,” Hannah remembers, “so we’ve played it for years and years on tour and it’s one of our favourites.” “We went out to LA this summer,” she continues, “and worked with Dan Wilson, who did ‘Hand Me Downs’ with us, and we were able to add in all the things we’d envisaged for the song. Loads of layered riffs, the vocals, and strings.” Talking about Dan’s influence, Ailbhe says: “He got the vision straightaway. He said, ‘This is so Irish,’ which is exactly what we wanted.” “It’s had a bit of a renaissance,” Lily notes. “We took it back to the drawing board and changed some stuff, rewrote some parts, and then built in all these things we’d always dreamed of doing.” Given the relative youth of both the band and their career so far, it would be easy to get into a swanky Los Angeles studio and throw every idea at the wall to see what sticks. Testament to their nous and maturity, though, Florence Road took the calm and measured approach. Maybe not the most rock and roll, but definitely the right path to take. “It would be so easy to make a cool sound and say, ‘OK, we have to do that in every bar of every song from now on’,” Hannah explains. “You have to be intentional about it. Your first instinct is to put the cool stuff in every chorus, but giving it the room to breathe and then explode later on sounds so much better.” Lily adds, “Yeah, absolutely, but I think we managed to get everything balanced. Nothing’s too overwhelming, so you hear something different each time. I get so emotional when we play it live. I have to really breathe through it and keep myself grounded. It’s one that you feel really strongly every time.”

Now, it wouldn’t be a Hype List piece if we didn’t probe the band for gossip about the future. Unsurprisingly, 2026 boasts even more shows, even more tunes, and even more fun for Florence Road. Most excitingly, it all promises to be built around this gnarly, gnashing alt-rock palette. Coyly, Lily hints: “The music lets you know what it wants to do, and, as much as we try to be who we are, we have to let the music speak. “But I think this is the direction we’re going in. We love being a band that makes longing music, stuff that stretches the heart.” They’ve got time to decipher this new direction properly when they finally stop for breath during a month back at home in Ireland this January, a pit stop in an otherwise packed-out calendar that couldn’t have come at a better time for the band. “We’ll be back to the shed, jamming, writing, but it’ll also keep us humble,” guitarist Emma Brandon smirks. “We love home,” Ailbhe grins. “I never realised how green Ireland is until we left, but now I’m like: where are the trees? I just need to touch grass!” Before we get too carried away with looking forward, how can the band even begin to process the last twelve months? “It’s been a year of firsts, a year of the girls taking over the world!” Lily says. “We’re just taking it day by day and keeping it grounded, or we’ll freak out. Like, singing with Royel Otis? I had to keep saying to myself, ‘This is fine, this is a totally normal thing to do.’” “It’s been a lot of fun, a lot of hard work, but we’re excited to share what we’ve been working on,” Emma adds. “We just have to keep riding the wave, keep on keeping on!” If 2026 provides even a tenth of the success that Florence Road have experienced this year, then they’ll still be one of the biggest bands on the scene by this time next year. There are very few bands we bestow the term ‘generational’ upon. But if Florence Road continue to write music that every fan of rock music wishes they were capable of making, there’s no reason why they can’t be one of those bands. ■ Taken from the December 2025 / January 2026 issue of Dork, out now.