The recent boom of guitar-driven music coming from the island of Ireland in recent years has only been a joy to listen to. Be it leaders of the post-punk scene in Dublin by way of Fontaines D.C. and The Murder Capital, or the shoegazers of Limerick’s NewDad and Dundalk’s Just Mustard. There’s a lot of interesting things happening, and at the heart of it are Dublin-born Sprints.
A four-piece post-punk band helmed by the excellent Karla Chubb, Sprints wear their emotions on their sleeves like all great bands in their genre. Releasing their first single in 2020, their debut album ‘Letter to Self’ has been quite a while in the making, and the Dubliners have shown that it was well worth the wait.
Sprints described their debut record as an “exploration of pain, passion, and perseverance”, and album opener ‘Ticking’ seems to encapsulate those thoughts, bearing an instrumental that was seemingly born from a fit of anxiety and questions. Chubb repeatedly asks the refrain, “Am I alive?” while the muted guitars and swelling drums only mimic and amplify the questions being asked, all mashing together to make a sweaty and intense opener.
‘Cathedral’ is easily a highlight, tracking Chubb’s anxiety, Catholic guilt, and experiences of being a queer woman. It’s fury swells to a climax of yells and blaring bass, a moment of overwhelming noise that almost drowns the track’s themes before it all cuts out, leaving just drums and Chubb. “They say I’ve gotten cold, while I’m sat drowning in the gutter”. Like the rest of their work, it’s powerful and unapologetic in its rawness.
Throughout the album, Sprints plunge into themes of nihilism and anxiety, but moments of uplift still remain. ‘Literary Mind’ is filled with punchy bass lines that drive in perfect synch with the band’s groove, and the climax features one of Chubb’s best performances. ‘Up and Comer’ also details the hardships of being a woman in the music industry: “They say she’s good for an up and comer”, “If you beat her like a drum”. It’s already easy to imagine the mosh pits enfolding during the climax of the track, with power chords and beaten drums taking up the meat of the instrumental.
‘Letter to Self’ is an excellent way to kick off 2024. Just like all great Irish bands before and around them, Sprints feel essential. Their debut shows an impressive dynamic among all four members, equally displaying a raw sound while also having songwriting choices that were delicately handcrafted. In a growing pool of Irish post-punk talent, the Dublin band have found their place in the scene right at the front of it.
Words by Niall McGreevy