Pandemic proves productive for Galway band in lockdown

Groove Tube with Cian O’Connell

The Valmonts might be one of the newest names on Galway’s music scene – but the indie-pop four-piece already boasts a wealth of songwriting and performing experience.  Made up of brothers Darragh and Keith Whyte, alongside Cathal Sweeney and Tymek Kocurkiewicz, the band has made a fast start. Following on from their debut performance at Whelan’s Ones to Watch in January, the group have been quick to release a single.

Recorded in Jealoustown Studios, Yesterday Kids is an anthemic blend of thrashing, upbeat guitar and soaring vocal hooks. The Valmonts don’t shy away from major pop elements on the track – it is catchy and full of energy from start to finish. The lyrics are appropriately nostalgic given the song feels like an ode to childhood in the early 2000s.

“We recorded it before the pandemic, thankfully,” Darragh recalls. “It was in Jealoustown Studios up in Meath, working with producers Tully Gun and Stuart Gray.

“It was a pretty quick process recording the song. We had the groundwork done and we were ready to go once we got into the studio. We had the song written a while before going into the studio. It’s always best to have it that way because if you just write a song and go straight in, it’s almost too fresh to go in with.

“You can end up thinking of other ideas and other directions for the song to go in after you’ve recorded the final thing. It’s good to sit on a song for a while – that’s the way we do it anyways.”

Without wanting to attach a label to their sound in terms of genre, the band is happy to continue making upbeat music. The intention is earnest – to get people moving and singing along. It is incidentally easy listening that is likely to appeal to radio stations.

“We want to have a variety of songs but definitely the aim is to play music that puts people in a good mood,” Darragh notes.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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