Penrose, 'See You Again'
Info: Dublin indie-rock band Penrose released their debut E.P. Live for the Dream last month with a launch night in The Grand Social. Beginning as a duo founded by Darragh McGrane, the band's early days were spent growing a fan base at venues such as Sweeney's, The Mercantile, Sin É and TGS in Dublin's city centre. Due to open the main stage of the cancelled Killarney Festival this summer for Duran Duran, Texas and The Proclaimers, the band dusted off the disappointment by heading along to the INEC in the town to back up Damien Dempsey and Mundy.
Where do they sit musically? The Penrose sound is distinctly along the dual lines of 60's and 70's pop-rock acts such as The Kinks, Beatles and ELO, but more noticeably influenced by the Britpop / indie era of the mid-90's, jangly guitars leading toward Oasis' 1998 compilation album The Masterplan or some unwritten Boo Radley's material. Opener 'See You Again' will certainly bring a flood of nostalgia to listeners of all generations, it's a nice slice of summertime indie with sharp pop threads running through it, and it is damn catchy, belting choruses and a psychedelic hippy mood abounds on the rolling guitar riffs.
'Harmony' is indicative of a more contemplative side of Penrose's song-writing capabilities, tiny pings of Elton John and Billy Joel at the piano early on and then some really nice guitar solos are accompanied by grand orchestral strings. Final track 'Where You Go Now' is also a more withdrawn affair in contrast to the E.P.'s opener, the chorus is anthemic and a call to arms, unrepentantly sounding like something from post-Rubber Soul Beatles before going full-indie with harmonies and Kula Shaker electric guitar solos to draw Live for the Dream to an energetic conclusion. It may become a happy coincidence that Penrose's influences and sound actually fill a current gap on the Irish music scene that will appeal to many, but it will also be interesting to see how their sound develops in the future as there are small (perhaps almost subconscious) and promising shoots of other genres peeking through at us on this E.P.
Penrose, 'Where You Go Now'
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