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Nov 16, 2021 By Mark Redfern Photography by Róisín Murphy O'Sullivan

Dublin post-punk five-piece Silverbacks are releasing a new album, Archive Material, on January 21, 2022 via Full Time Hobby. Now they have shared its third single, “Rolodex City.” They have also announced some new 2022 tour dates for the UK and Ireland. Listen to the song below, followed by the tour dates.

The band features Daniel O’Kelly (vocals/guitar), Kilian O’Kelly (guitar/vocals), Emma Hanlon (bass/vocals), Peadar Kearney (guitar), and Gary Wickham (drums).

Daniel O’Kelly had this to say about “Rolodex City” in a press release: “‘Rolodex City’ is about a property mogul who has fallen on very hard times during a period where technology has changed the way his business and people work. Similar to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid getting caught out by the trains, bicycles, and an increasingly small world, Mr Rolodex is running out of options. He visits a town in a barren landscape with the hope of flipping a bit of land, posing as whatever character the people there will trust—Rolodex City. Ultimately, our anti-hero has no luck and reluctantly ends his trip at a line dance led by Emma—feel free to join in! To help set the scene, we used a live drum sound and contrasting drum machine claps and mechanical percussion. The guitars are inspired by the twang of country music with some Verlaine techniques employed on the solo, for the riff spotters.”

Archive Material includes “Wear My Medals,” a new song the band shared in September via a video partially made in claymation. “Wear My Medals” was #1 on our Songs of the Week list. When the album was announced in October the band shared a video for its title track, “Archive Material,” which was filmed in Dunkirk, France. “Archive Material” also made our Songs of the Week list.

Archive Material is the band’s sophomore album and follows the 2020 release of their well-received debut album, Fad, which came out on Central Tones.

The album was recorded at Dublin’s Sonic Studios in November 2020. Girl Band (now known as Gilla Band) bassist Daniel Fox produced Fad and also recorded the new album. Reference points/influences mentioned in a previous press release include Neil Young, Weyes Blood, Bradford Cox and Cate Le Bon, Television, and Gang of Four. Some of the songs deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown.

The press release explained in more detail: “On several songs, the pandemic functions as a particularly effective prism through which to examine ideas of community. ‘A Job Worth Something’ finds Daniel reflecting on his real-life experiences working in insurance while his sister treated patients on a COVID ward, and the feelings of futility and guilt he felt at the time. ‘Different Kind of Holiday’ was inspired by the ways in which previously uncommunicative neighbors bonded with each other during periods of enforced confinement. Throughout, his observations arrived drenched in the same surreal strain of gallow’s humor that many of us were forced to adopt to lighten the toughest moments of the lockdown.”

Daniel O’Kelly further elaborated: “I can’t remember who it was, but I saw a musician who said that they’d be keeping away from writing anything about the pandemic, because who wants to hear about that? But I’d much rather hear about an event via someone who actually lived through it, rather than someone writing about it retrospectively.”

When Fad was announced the band shared a new song from it, “Muted Gold,” via an amusing video for the track. “Muted Gold” was #1 on our Songs of the Week list. The Fad single “Up the Nurses” also made our Songs of the Week.

Read our 2020 The End interview with Silverbacks.

Silverbacks Tour Dates:

March 2nd – Dublin, IE - Whelan’s
March 6th - Manchester, UK - Yes Basement
March 7th – Liverpool,UK - Jimmy’s
March 8th – Bristol,UK - Louisiana
March 9th – Brighton,UK - Prince Albert
March 10th – London, UK - Sebright Arms
March 11th – Portsmouth, UK - The Loft
March 12th – Leeds, UK - Headrow House

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