What is in the water in Dublin? Within recent years, the pool of talent has been an ever-growing list, with trailblazers Fontaines D.C and The Murder Capital redefining what it means to be an alternative act from Ireland’s biggest city. Since 2019, exciting post-punk outlets have been clamouring to find their way into the spotlight. Alternative 5-piece Basht. may find themselves nudging their way into the conversation sooner than they expected.
Having only released their first single in 2022, Basht. has been quickly gathering ears for their raw sound. With a listen to their debut single ‘Never Love’ it’s easy to imagine a band who wears their attitude on tattooed sleeves. Picking up support slots for the acclaimed Wunderhorse, Goo Goo Dolls and BDRMM along the way in such a short time only spells success.
They drop their debut EP, ‘Dirty White Lies’ into a growing cauldron of excitement. Its themes are drenched with ideas of toxic relationships and love, but most importantly, the tunes live up to the hype.
EP opener ‘Dirty White’ gets the ball rolling with its gutsy opening guitar riffs bouncing off each other courtesy of Sam Duffy and Rossa Healy, and the five members never look back from that point. The track only builds from there, with each verse punctuated by frontman Jack Leavey’s terrific delivery. The Dublin man’s vocals aren’t reaching for sky-high notes, yet they provide just the right amount of gloss to contrast the grungy instrumentals. Followup and single ‘Gone Girl’ reminds of past post-punk and grunge legends Joy Division and Nirvana with its simple but punchy guitar leads, and the chorus is one of the strongest of the year so far with its fast-paced delivery. It wouldn’t be too hard to imagine collective head-banging in the studio when Basht. recorded the final touches.
Each band member takes their turn in showcasing what they bring to the table throughout too, with Luke O’Neill’s drum fills on ‘Wild Horses’ being particularly strong, with each crash onto the kit punched into your ears. The track is the heavy hitter of the bunch, with Leavey singing the lyrics, “Hold me down honey until your heart stops to work/And this rain stops pouring”. It’s poignant in tone, but bursting with life in its performances, making for a mature outing you would expect to hear on a band’s farewell album rather than a debut EP.
Despite being so early into their careers, Basht. shrug off any potential worries due to lack of experience in songcraft.
‘Dirty White Lies’ may be short but it leaves a lasting impression and showcases a band packed with potential. As Basht. develop their sound and craft with more releases, it’s easy to imagine them becoming behemoths in their genre.
Words by Niall McGreevy