When did the door slam closed
Is it open still?
You wipe the night from your clothes
Have you got the will, the will, the will?
News
Thoughts and missives from Pearse McGloughlin
When did the door slam closed
Is it open still?
You wipe the night from your clothes
Have you got the will, the will, the will?
Dear Reader,
Thank you for dropping by.
Here is a video for a song called ‘Last Days’. It was filmed by Alek Nowak and Ewa Respond at our recent gig in Annesley House on November 29th 2025.
A very big thank you to Ewa and Alek for their beautiful film.
Alek and I had been talking about making something together and when we put our heads together we thought this would be a good chance. So we recorded the gig live, with some help from Jackie at the venue and now have a little keepsake of the show. We hope you enjoy the film and the music from me, Enda, Billy and Morgan.
P
It was a great blast to open for gentlemen and masters Bellx1 in The Set Theatre in October. Below are some images by artful photographer Roisin Murphy. We play a full band show at Annesely House on November 29th and tickets are here.
Dear Dreamers,
I hope the entry in 2025 has been wonderful and that now, you are in the waters of the new year and swimming!
This is a missive to alert you to my new upcoming EP, ‘The Falls’. For me, this is a slight, but not too extreme, departure in that it is an instrumental collection of songs.
So, let me tell you of its genesis. How did it come to be in the world? Cast your mind back to September 2023. It was a time when I did a sound design for a show called ‘Ireland Is’. This was a poetry show spearheaded by the poet Colm Keegan and Softt Productions. It featured the poets Danez Smith, Erin Fornoff, Felicia, Hollie McNish and Colm Keegan. I did about 30 pieces to accompany the poems which ranged from the political to the personal and delved into a broad emotional spectrum. It was a real buzz to do the sounds for - I had recently completed a course in Music Production in Griffith College and in a sense the ‘Ireland Is’ show gave me a chance to tap into my newly acquired skillzzzz.
The new ‘The Falls’ EP features five pieces I did for the show. It’s a meditative, slow burning affair so if you want music to focus to, work to, meditate alongside this might be for you as it’s to my mind anyway, quite still, uncluttered music.
A word of thanks to Niall Stafford (Nile Sphinx) for doing the graphic design on this, it’s great!
THE FALLS EP
Am delighted to get out to play a snap of gigs in June to mark the release of 'Embers' from the album 'Keg'.
We will return to Furey's in Sligo on June 21st and that is kicking off at 10pm.
Then we will take to Whelans Upstairs for a full band on Wednesday June 26th. Support on that night will be from indie experimental act Akrobat, who will play a stripped back unplugged set. It will be a cool night of music and great to get back to playing live.
Tickets for Whelans are available here.
Go well,
P
Also, PS, here is a video we made earlier this year for SAGA, directed by Ursula Woods.
She is taking herself apart before our sceptical gaze…
In ‘Embers’ I big ole name drop Ben Okri…and I’m thinking about this piece he write about a dancer and her vulnerability….in those moments before she takes flight, before she moves into her artistic form. It’s about that feeling that pushes back against your courage, that wants to keep you small. And you have to lean forward and…. fall for … moments…..
Like all the tracks on the album, it was recorded with Julie at Analogue- with Stephen Kiernan on drums, Billy on keys and Ciaran McGreevy on bass. I love the rhythmic guitar, snarly and direct.
Dear Friends,
My new record 'Keg' is out now. I started recording it in August 2021 and completed it fully only a few weeks ago. Over the course of the record there were some challenges. The first day I sat down to record, taking a break after the very first session I learned of the heartbreaking news, that a very close friend of mine, Gregory, had died suddenly. I was devastated. As I'd made quite a few arrangements to set up the session, I decided to push on, despite everything that was going on. So for that reason, I will never forget these sessions and songs. I figured that I could use the drug of grief and channel it into something. As it happened, I'd two songs which referenced Greg prepared for the album, which none of my other albums had so that was uncanny. They were weird to record but maybe cathartic too. To be honest, the initial weeks after Greg's death I carried on with the sessions, I was definitely all over the shop...but I just dove into the sessions and pretended to know what I was doing. The fact it was on tape meant it was a different approach to prior albums, just fewer chances to go back and change things. You also have more technical limitations in terms of tracks you can record. You can work around all these things but there is a certain psychology that comes with it. I found it tough and felt quite close to abandoning it as I wasn't happy with certain takes and idiosyncrasies which mine and Julie's approach elicited. Julie said something during the recording. 'Everyone is always posting pictures of the great time they are having in the studio. But it's meant to be hard. I have worked on albums where people are really pushed to their limit and these are the best ones'. Julie has a superb back catalogue. Pressure makes diamonds I guess!
One last thing, I called the record 'Keg' in memory of my friend. When we were kids my little brother used called Greg, 'Keg'. People's immediate thought is to think of a beer keg and revelry. I liked this as a title as it sounds throwaway and frivolous and that is the opposite of what I felt whilst going through this period of grieving and recording. All of this being said, it's a lot more catchy and immediate than some of my past work. I also think of a powder keg, something powerful. And Greg was definitely that too.
So that's one side to the album. I have loads more to say about it but that will do for today. Thanks for sharing and listening.
You can listen/order to it here on Bandcamp (below) or on digital services here.
We kicked off our first show in Belfast last Sunday and are playing a few shows over the next while:
June 16th, SLIGO, Furey’s
June 18th CLONAKILTY, De Barra’s, w/ Justin Grounds (Idiot Songs 10 year anniversary) Tickets
June 23rd, GALWAY, Roisin Dubh
June 30th, DUBLIN, The Bello Bar (tickets)
July 4th, DUBLIN, Ruby Sessions
August 3rd, DUNDALK, Spirit Store
Hope to see you soon,
Pearse
I have a new lyric video for SIX…
Looking forward to a couple of gigs next month with Nighthawks on April 5th (Sold Out) and then MVP Dublin on April 28th with The May Alter - all to coincide with the release of a new song called ‘Six’ from the album.
📸by Emily O’Brien
I wanted to do a little version of ‘Your Loving Arms’ by Billie Ray Martin. Always found the vocal melody and lyrics haunting and lush but wanted to take the production in a different direction. Have a listen and let me know what you think..
https://songwhip.com/pearse-mcgloughlin/your-loving-arms
In Movement - released 2012
My second album is ten years old. A lot of lovely memories of this one - recorded in Bow Lane with Jimmy Eadie and a fine cast of players. Tender to think of it.😂🥹
1. Antelope March
2. Bright Star
3. Morning Mist (The Birds)
4. Caught in Craft
5. The Lonely Track
6. Stage Fright
7. You and The Lion
8. Temps Perdu
9. Twine
10. Spherosphere
11. Going Away
Trivia: Tracks 2 and 3 have been covered by maestros Fia Rua and Robin James Hurt respectively.
I recorded a song called ‘Mercedes and The Kingfisher’ for the album but left it out in the end…. it’s a lovely track though also available on the ‘Twine EP’.
Lovely vinyl design by Stephen Kieran and imagery by Kieran O’Donoghue.
Available to buy from https://pearsemcgloughlin.bandcamp.com/album/in-movement
Been a while since our last one of these
Ey up.
A long time it has been quiet <---> I step in from the cold to speak quietly with you.
It's been a tough period, for many reasons. I lost a very close friend, Greg, in August of last year and, well, the repercussions of that still tremor through me. I will write about it more eloquently at some point. I hope such a shattering event has never visited you.
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Having an album to record at the same point was bizarre enough too, to tell the truth but sort of cathartic. I recorded it with Julie McLarnon in Analogue Catalogue though and that was brilliant as Julie is an unbelievable producer who knows her stuff so well. A real pro. We did several sessions over a series of months - all recorded to tape which was a big old first for me. 8 songs.
{[]} 8£**
I've been studying composition and music theory at college too and this has helped me massively - encouraging me to enter into a more instrumental world. The fruits of this exploration won't really appear (directly) on the next record but maybe a little further down the line.
P
analogue catalogue
recordin’
Friends,
I will share a short set of new songs for Harold’s Cross Community Festival on May 14th at 19:00. Recorded by Emil Damyanov in Badlands rehearsal studios, you can sign up for a reminder on the video below.
P