High-energy gig in store from The Altered Hours

Groove Tube with Jimi McDonnell – tribunegroove@live.ie

Playing an expansive and dreamy brand of rock music, The Altered Hours come to Róisín Dubh on Thursday, February 1. The Cork-based band are Cathal Mac Gabhann on vocals/guitar, Nora Lewon on drums, Elaine Howley on synthesiser/vocals, Kevin Terry Junior (guitar) and bassist Patrick Cullen.

The band will soon release the EP On My Tongue, which was recorded in Bow Lane Studios in Dublin. The album was produced by Daniel Fox, who is also a member of noiseniks Girl Band. He was already familiar with The Altered Hours live sound, having seen them in action at the Body & Soul festival.

“He saw us give it loads and we really went wild at that one; he could see that was the energy we were going for,” Cathal says. “It’s sometimes hard to capture that in a studio environment. He was brilliant at accommodating that energy.

“Daniel’s not afraid of a bit of noise, and I think that’s something I’m trying to bring into our recording. We have it live, but it’s hard to translate. It’s nice to have someone at the controls who’s not afraid of it getting loud and messy. It’s a good thing for us!”

When it comes to writing songs for The Altered Hours, it’s been an evolving process.

“Over the years I’ve been the main songwriter, but it’s starting to grow a little bit with Elaine and Kevin bringing stuff to the table,” Cathal says. “Someone will have a bunch of chords, or an idea for a theme, and we’ll play it. It could a production idea – that seems to be the way we work. It’s the tones we pick and the tempo that says an awful lot.”

In 2015, The Altered Hours got to open for The Brian Jonestown Massacre when the American band performed in Dublin. Cathal is a big fan of the outfit and their psychedelic form of pop music.

They were the subject of the 2005 documentary Dig!, which showed a band in danger of being consumed by ego and excess.  However, having met bandleader Anton Newcombe, Cathal now has a different impression.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.