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Slyrydes ‘What-Happens-If-You-Get-Happy’

Slyrydes What Happens If You Get Happy on Right Chord Music

Slyrydes finally release their debut album, and it has been well worth the wait.

Introducing Slyrydes

Slyrydes are a critically acclaimed post-punk band from Galway City, Co. Galway, Ireland. They met in a late-night bar where singer Rafto worked.

In 2013, they eventually began playing music together, and it quickly became something very real, with the passion from those late-night music debates naturally translating into a cohesive sound.

However, the path to their debut album has been anything but smooth. In one interview, Fuz from the band describes a journey of chaos and individual self-disruption with rehab, arrests and fighting threatening to knock them off-course. Thankfully, they eventually managed to knuckle down.

In 2019, Slyrydes released their debut single, which was immediately championed by Paul McCloone (The Undertones) on his nationwide radio show on Today FM.

A year later, they had released five singles into the world. Buzz and momentum was growing, and plans were brewing for some major live shows. Then COVID hit, and like so many artists at the time, the enforced hiatus threatened their very future.

Now, after years of personal growth and collective survival, Slyrydes have made it to the start, with the release of their debut album, What Happens If You Get Happy. 

“From the beginning, we said we wanted to make important music, the kind that mattered to people,” says Eoin Reilly. “We really lived it. Now we are in a healthier place to put this music out and give it the platform it deserves”

Slyrydes – What Happens If You Get Happy

“This is a visceral, unflinching, and honest record that grabs you from the outset and refuses to let go.”

It feels fitting that the album opener is ‘Mental Health’, the release of this album might just be the ultimate cathartic therapy for a band that openly admits to struggling with various mental health issues and self-destructive tendencies.

We are very honest with our lyrics and music. We’d be taking the piss if we ignored how we felt and started singing about surfing or that paint by numbers person loves another person shit.” [Fuz]

The album continues with the former single, I Claim To Be Intelligent. You can almost feel the tension and personal anxiety building on this track, before it can no longer be contained.  The video remains one of the most visually powerful I can remember seeing since starting this blog.

Boy In The Debs Suit is a poignant and frantic search for a missing school graduate. The next three tracks, Procrastination Is A Fear Of Failure (PIAFOF), Ahern, and Stutter, are all previously unreleased tracks.

PIAFOF is another deeply personal track that hints at the mindset of a band that has frequently tetered on the brink. Ahern is a jittery, intense affair that tackles the essence of being Irish.

Ahern, meaning “descendant of Eachthighearna” is an Irish surname. Variants of the surname include Ahearn(e) and Hearn(e). There are 2718 people with the surname Ahern in Ireland, and 1404 people in the United Kingdom.

Long-term fans of the band will recall former singles, Dangerous Animals and Out Patience. Both sound as fresh and exciting as they did on first release. This is a band unafraid to explore the darker edges of modern life.

The lead single from the album is track 11 ‘Famous To Five Million’, a song about what comes after fleeting fame. Of the new tracks, this is an obvious standout moment.

“I hope you keep your head and still remember me. You’re famous to five million.”

The album ends with ‘Just For Show’, a powerful and direct reminder that suicide affects lives, and the deaths from suicide in Ireland should be treated as more than cold statistics.

What Happens If You Get Happy is a 12-track album forged in genuine fire. Six of its tracks have never been heard before. It’s a record that asks big questions but doesn’t flinch from the answers.

“We’ve bled for this record literally and figuratively,” Mark Raftery “It’s been a long road, but maybe we needed that time apart to figure out who we really are. This album is our story.” Mark Comer

With plans to bring their explosive live show back on the road, Slyrydes are ready to make the statement they always promised, and we can’t wait to see what comes next. This band remain important.

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Words Mark Knight

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