About this item

Brògeal thrum at the centre of a robust, Celtic folk revival, crowds across the UK and Ireland connecting to a traditional spirit of positive defiance in an ever-polarised, none-more-negative era. There’s an uprising going on. Their debut album Tuesday Paper Club, out October 17th on Play It Again Sam (Cameron Winter, Nick Cave, The Hives), blends romance, loss, nostalgia and mischief, recorded on the Isle of Lewis.

The rambunctious Celtic folk of The Pogues, the charm of The View, Teenage Fanclub’s lush harmonies, the Smiths’ jangly delicacy, Oasis Bside yearning, and a defiant Scottish brogue… Brògeal have it all and make it their own. A bubbling cultural cauldron with accordion, banjo, bouzouki, mandolin and penny whistle, where ancient folk tradition meets indie Gen Z spirit, laughing, singing and dancing through 21stcentury darkness. From small-town Falkirk in Scotland, the folk-punk-indie-pop five-piece earned a rep as one of Britain’s best live bands, igniting mosh-pit madness across the UK and Ireland.

They made their first EP for themselves, ‘Dirt and Daydreams’ (2023) released on their own winningly titled CraicDen label, followed by an eponymous EP in 2024 on Is Right Records, leading to a signing with revered independent label Play It Again Sam. For the last 18 months they’ve toured relentlessly, throughout the UK and Ireland, gathering ecstatic fans, have supported Paolo Nutini, The Mary Wallopers and The Lathums, found fans in both 6 Music’s Huw Stephen and Line of Duty actor Martin Compston, been eulogised in Rolling Stone, the Independent, Clash, The New Cue, So Young and Dork. “We’ve always been kept busy and it just kind of got bigger and bigger at a really natural rate,” says Aidan. “It’s the stuff of dreams. You think, ‘Oh, that could never happen’, and we’re doing it!”

Brògeal: a proper band for everyone, cheering up the world. The good times, finally, are back.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Feel-good traditional Irish (and Scottish) folk by a selection of lads from Falkirk, echoing the raucous bar singalong vibes of The Pogues or the anthemic rock of The View, but landing somewhere near neither. A wonderfully energetic, exciting debut.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Tuesday Paper Club
A2 Friday On My Mind
A3 Vicar Street Days
A4 Lady Madonna
A5 Turn & Walk Away
A6 Scarlet Red
A7 Dippin’ N Divin’
B1 One For The Ditch
B2 Draw The Line
B3 Racing Track
B4 Apples & Leaves
B5 Stuck Inside
B6 Go Home Tae Yer Bed
B7 Lonesome Boatman