Fresh from releasing debut single 'The Fall' and returning this week with towering follow-up 'You Are', Limerick five-piece THEATRE have wasted absolutely no time becoming one of the most exciting new bands emerging from Ireland right now. Built around the huge, emotionally raw vocals of Maeve O'Shea alongside guitarists Dara Gooney and Oscar Halpin, bassist Gerry Sheil and drummer Sean Storan, the group are carving out their own lane with towering shoegaze guitars and folk-tinged storytelling.
At the moment, they're in transit after another date supporting fellow Irish risers Bleech 9:3, the alt-rock outfit currently building a serious reputation for cathartic live shows and emotionally heavy songwriting. In other words, probably a pretty fitting tour pairing.
"Today we are in our van travelling from Norwich to Birmingham on the Bleech 9:3 Tour," THEATRE announce together, sounding remarkably upbeat for five people currently existing on motorway fumes and service station snacks.
The band explain they met each other one by one and eventually formed "piece by piece" before growing into the tight group they are now. Some members live together, most of their free time is spent in each other's company, and even their downtime has become suspiciously communal. "Cooking meals is how we decompress," they say, alongside film nights, gigs and a recently adopted group obsession with morning runs.
That closeness spills directly into the music, too: THEATRE write as a unit, developing what they describe as a "very fluid and satisfying" process where everything is "100% collaborative". "It makes the joy of creating even sweeter," they explain.
The songs themselves have actually been around for far longer than most people realise. Before signing to BMG / Echo and before the BBC radio plays and sold-out London gigs, many of the tracks that make up debut EP 'Incarnate' already existed as live favourites floating around the band for years. In fact, naming the EP became unexpectedly difficult because THEATRE were trying to pin down the strange feeling of finally releasing music that had lived in their heads for so long.
"The name 'Incarnate' stuck with us because our songs have existed in a dream-like place for a while, never released, just played live," they explain. "To us, we wanted to do it right, and the EP finally being real feels like the songs are taking on a physical form of their own."
The careful approach makes a lot of sense once you hear the music; nothing about THEATRE feels rushed. 'The Fall' arrived full of grief and devotion, while new single 'You Are' turns fragmented childhood memories into a huge anthem aimed directly at younger selves who maybe needed a bit more kindness growing up.
The strange part for the band is that after years spent slowly working towards this point, everything suddenly seems to be moving very quickly. "We formed our band a few years ago and spent the first while building our songs," they say. "It's been quite a long road for us, or else it feels like it has, and since releasing our first single a few weeks ago, it's going better than we would have imagined!"
"It's going better than we would have imagined!"
A recent London show at The Elephant's Head gave THEATRE their first real "oh, people are actually paying attention" moment, with fans packing out the room after following the release of 'The Fall'. Others had apparently been waiting far longer, having first caught the band touring with Gurriers. "We've had people reaching out that we had met through those tours who had kept their eyes on us and waited patiently for a release," they say. "That meant a lot to us."
Even with all the growing hype around them, THEATRE still sound far more emotionally attached to old haunts in Limerick than any glamorous music industry fantasy. Ask where they'd spend a day back in the city and the answers arrive immediately: The Commercial, Pharmacia, Tom Collins and Dolans. "One of our spots that was so close to our hearts, Crew, is now gone, unfortunately, which is very heartbreaking."
For all the attention currently surrounding THEATRE, daily life hasn't transformed that dramatically either. Signing to a label means having "a team around us holding us up all the time now", though the band say their day-to-day life remains "very much DIY", which is exactly how they prefer operating anyway.
There's also a feeling that 'Incarnate' only captures one phase of THEATRE before the next version of the band starts emerging. "'Incarnate' captured a very specific moment in time for us as a band," they explain. "It's wonderful to have that as a body of work to give to people before we start to fully expand our sound."
First though: more touring, more writing and a summer festival run that includes Latitude, Deer Shed and Truck Festival. Then comes their first UK headline tour in October, which feels like a pretty major milestone for a band who only released their debut single a few weeks ago.
As for what success actually looks like from here, THEATRE keep the answer refreshingly simple. "We would love to go wherever our music feels accepted!"
Judging by the speed this band is moving right now, they may want to start preparing for much longer drives.
THEATRE's debut EP 'Incarnate' is out 12th June.
