‘There’s nowhere to hide’ in Cork group’s new single

Acclaimed shoegaze outfit Pebbledash have just released a brand new single, and the future is looking increasingly bright for the Cork five-piece.

The new track, ‘Cartography’ follows their well-received first single ‘Asha’s Waltz’ off their debut EP, ‘Four Portraits Of The Same Ugly House’ which dropped at the start of the year.

The song was inspired by a day spent in Berlin by the band’s guitar player, Fionnbharr Hickey.

“I couldn't shake this anxious feeling I was having all day but couldn't quite understand why or where it was coming from,” he explains.

“After deciding I didn't want this song to sound morose or sad, even though the material signifies a difficult time for me, I wrote the guitar parts using an alternate tuning I liked at the time and one that felt uplifting and adventurous. I also wanted to write something I could picture people dancing to in their bedrooms or kitchens or wherever,” says Hickey.

The track was recorded with Cork-based producer Andy Killian (Pretty Happy, Ankil) and is an exercise in honest simplicity and layered tones, with just one vocal take needed to achieve its vision.

Hickey continues: “In many ways, the song is about exploring simplicity and doing what we felt is right, not overthinking things, recorded in a few hours and with only one vocal taker we are sort of exposing ourselves as a raw five-piece and that felt good. There's nowhere to hide in this track.”

Pebbledash have established themselves as a formidable presence in the music scene, garnering acclaim both as a dynamic live band and through their recorded work.

This recognition has led them to play in some of the most iconic venues across Ireland and the UK, including The Windmill Brixton in London, Hope and Ruin in Brighton, and Whelan's in Dublin, as well as Cyprus Avenue and Live at St Luke’s here in Cork.

Their first single, ‘Asha’s Waltz’, garnered over 15k streams in less than a week of its release and received great praise from the likes of UK publication So Young Magazine who commended the band for their “ability to blend traditional Irish folk with shoegaze elements”.

Looking ahead to the latter part of 2025, Pebbledash is set to embark on their highly anticipated second headline tour, ‘Of Seaweed and Sandstone’, which will take them across Ireland and the UK in November.

They will be in Cyprus Avenue in Cork on 6 November.