MacD on Music: Whataboutisms

The Irish punk scene is currently thriving. In the past few years, we’ve given the world CHERYM, Touts, Fontaines D.C., Problem Patterns and so many more. This week, I’m talking to AOA, an up-and-coming Belfast group that look set to keep this trend going following the release last week of their debut EP ‘Whataboutisms’.

The group, made up of Caolan Fitzsimons (Lead Singer), Owen Crummey (Lead Guitarist), Jake Fox (Bassist) and Adam Din (Drummer), are going to be launching the EP with their first headline gig in The Black Box on December 11th (with support from Klyda and Ilisium).

Tell me a bit about how the group came together.

We came together by almost complete coincidence. Me and Owen were playing at a birthday party in March 2023, and we needed help setting up, so we asked our mate to come help us with equipment, and he said that he would have to bring his mate with him as well. His mate ended up being Adam, who had just left his previous band and asked us if we needed a drummer. We then started rehearsing covers together and got our first gig at a fundraiser in West Belfast last July.

Eventually Adam asked his mate Jake to come play bass with us, but due to various reasons he couldn't actually make it to any rehearsals, so the first time me and Owen actually met him was at the soundcheck for our first gig and he insisted he had learnt the setlist (which was half true).

We realised when the set was done that the four of us complimented each other really well and quickly found a real enjoyment in making music together, and we haven’t really looked back since.

Who would you say have been your main musical influences?

Personally, I drew on influences from a few artists when I was writing the new EP, mainly Green Day and Queens of the Stone Age (which I think are quite evident when you listen to it…) but overall, as a band we draw on a lot of different influences coming from different musical backgrounds.

Tastes in the band range from musical theatre soundtracks to street-punk and heavy metal, so I think we try to channel our different tastes into creating something unique and different.

Tell me about your new EP.

The EP is based around the idea of a ‘whataboutism’, which is a sort of propaganda technique by responding to a question with a counter question or raising a different issue.

We wrote the title track, and thought it was actually a great name for a longer project, so we got together to write some more songs about similar topics and things going on in the world around us.

The tracks explore a view of politics and authority from the perspective of a working-class background, and the overarching message we wanted to put across was to always stand up for yourself and fight for what you believe in.

The final track ‘4th Of July’ came from a completely different place. One, because we wanted a song that felt like a closer, but also that we wanted something that felt a bit more personal and intimate, so I wrote a song about the loss of my dad when I was younger and not knowing how to process the situation as a child, and I think it’s probably become my favourite song I’ve ever written.

What else have you got coming up?

The next thing we have coming up is our launch gig for the EP in The Black Box on the 11th of December, which is a show I'm really excited for, especially since it’s our first headline. We’ve also been working on lining up some gigs and writing new music to kick off the new year, so we have a few different announcements coming in the next few weeks that I'm also really excited about.

Are there any other acts you think we should be keeping an eye on?

There’s a lot of acts I'm really enjoying at the minute. I think right now the scene is really thriving, and it’s also really diverse in terms of style and genre, like on one hand you’ve got artists like Klyda, The Thing Is and Cora Harkin, and then on the complete opposite end of the spectrum there’s bands like Alpha Twin, Rhinos and Enola Gay, and then somewhere in the middle falls bands like Gush, Virgins and Ilisium.

I think they’re my favourite acts going at the moment, but there's so many to choose from, there's really something for everyone.

And that’s it from AOA. Their debut EP ‘Whataboutisms’ is out now on all good streaming platforms, and they’ll be playing the Black Box in Belfast on December 11th. Tickets are £8 plus booking fee and are available on skiddle.com.

READ MORE: MacD on Music

Now, onto other business. December 13th will see Louise DaCosta releasing another single from her excellent album ‘Kaleidoscope’ (out now on all good streaming platforms).

The track, ‘Faith’, is the radio edit of the track from the album and features vocals from Abby Oliveira, frontwoman of 7 Daughters.

Finally, time for the socials. Louise DaCosta can be found on Facebook and Instagram @thelouisedacosta and AOA @aoa_band.