All Aboard! Drying Weather release high-energy banger Railwayman
The scorching Dublin four-piece return with single that’s just the ticket
Following on from a slot at Whelan’s Ones to Watch 2023 and an East Coast FM finalist spot in Hot Press’s Irish Music Month, Dublin act Drying Weather are back today with their new single Railwayman and an accompanying music video.
Railwayman arrives one year after the band’s initial crop of singles, including Papaya Whip, 2 and Boots which drew praise from the likes of Kellii Scott (Failure) and Jordon Zadorozny (Blinker the Star).
A new departure from the sunny sound of the band’s previous singles, Railwayman whips by at a high pace with a rumbling bassline, driving guitars, and the steam engine of Conor Timmons’ powerful drums. The song builds to a clattering crescendo of swirling distortion and Biffy Clyro-inspired violin.
Embodying multiple narrators, Dónal Kennedy’s lyrics take the listener on a journey through the giddy highs and crushing lows of attaining fame or success in the public sphere.
Kennedy said,
“Railwayman has been a fan favourite in our live set for the past few years, so it’s fantastic to finally release the studio version. Our producer Eoin Whitfield did an amazing job corralling all the moving parts into a cohesive whole.
“I don’t like to be too explicit about the lyrics, but you do get the sense from the words of two very different people who have both achieved something significant in their lives. For one, they can die happy with what they gave to the world, but for the other no amount of recognition or success will ever be enough.
"I guess I was drawing on that human instinct to never truly feel like you’ve ‘made it’, even when it seems like you’re at the top of your field."
Formed in 2019 and releasing their debut single Papaya Whip in May 2021, over the course of the last few years Drying Weather have been working with producer Whitfield (EHCO, Enemies) on a debut album. They’ve gigged extensively in Dublin, with shows around Ireland and abroad in Berlin and London.
Kennedy and fellow frontman Barry McNamara variously sing lead and trade bass and acoustic guitar duties, lending their output a ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead variety, with Timmons and lead guitarist Frank Chambers rounding out the quartet.
Anchored in fuzz bass and warm acoustic guitar, the Drying Weather sound blends rich pop harmonies with the heft of late 90s alt rock and textures of Midwest emo.
