Irish Trio whenyoung Preview Debut Album Reasons to Dream with New Single “Future”
Photo by Olivia RichardsonLondon-based indie-rock outfit whenyoung are making 2019 their year. Besides playing their first American shows (including some at SXSW), the group have now announced their debut album Reasons to Dream, out May 24 via Virgin EMI, sharing their new single “Future” as a look at what’s to come.
Hailing from Limerick, Ireland, the band’s Cranberries comparisons are to be expected, but whenyoung live up to them with aplomb (they even have their own excellent cover of “Dreams”). Frontwoman and bassist Aoife Power’s ethereal vocals definitely evoke Dolores O’Riordan to some extent, but whenyoung are also clearly a group who have crafted their own sound imbued with more hope than sorrow compared to their Limerick predecessors.
That’s not to say Power, guitarist Niall Burns and drummer Andrew Flood shy away from serious topics. In fact, “Future” tells the story of one of their close friends who tragically took his own life. The black-and-white music video (dir. Michael Baldwin) for the track shows a young boy (Badger Skelton) being bullied and struggling with his own painful emotions. However, the band take this heart-wrenching subject and sing upliftingly of what could be, saying, “Look to the future / See it all sharper now.”
The trio are adept at finding hope in the darkest of times, as reflected in their statement on Reasons to Dream:
Reasons To Dream is a presentation of our collective experiences of life since we have moved to London. We’ve trundled through many jobs, flats, neighbourhoods and rehearsal rooms learning, practising, maturing and cultivating whatever it is we do along the way. We’ve gone from knowing nobody to making close friends, from finding it lonely to finding it welcoming.
Watch the video for “Future” below and, further down, explore the details of Reasons to Dream and whenyoung’s forthcoming tour dates.
Reasons to Dream Album Art:
Reasons to Dream Tracklist:
01. Pretty Pure
02. Never Let Go
03. The Others
04. A Labour of Love
05. You’re Grand
06. Blow up the World
07. Blank Walls
08. Future
09. In My Dreams
10. Heartbroken
11. Something Sweet
whenyoung Tour Dates:
April
05 — Nottingham, U.K. @ Rock City*
06 — Manchester, U.K. @ Victoria Warehouse*
08 — Bristol, U.K. @ O2 Academy*
09 — Sheffield, U.K. @ O2 Academy*
10 — Birmingham, U.K. @ O2 Academy*
12 — Southampton, U.K. @ Guildhall*
13 — London, U.K. @ O2 Academy Brixton*
17 — Guildford, U.K. @ The Boileroom
18 — Cardiff, U.K. @ Clwb Ifor Bach
19 — Liverpool, U.K. @ Arts Club
20 — Stockton, U.K. @ Stockton Calling
24 — Oxford, U.K. @ The Bullingdon
25 — Bournemouth, U.K. @ 60 Million Postcards
26 — Bedford, U.K. @ Esquires
27 — Reading, U.K. @ Are you Listening? Festival
May
04 — Leeds, U.K. @ Live at Leeds Festival
05 — Leicester, U.K. @ Handmade Festival
06 — Belfast, U.K. @ Mchugh’s
07 — Dublin, Ireland @ Whelan’s
25 — Newcastle, U.K. @ This is Tomorrow Festival
26 — Warrington, U.K. @ Neighbourhood Weekender Festival
(* = with Sundara Karma)