MacD on Music: Singing and Sailing Away

There are some bands that produce great recordings but are not-so-great live. Others are incredible live but the recordings don’t quite live up to the same standard. Then, there are those bands that manage to master both, capturing the live magic in the studio.

This week, I’m talking to Cahir McLaughlin and Pearse Donaghy of Polar Bolero, one of the best live bands on the scene today, and who are about to release their debut EP ‘Singing and Sailing Away’ (out on 27th February). As anyone who has seen them live will tell you, they are a band like no other on the scene today, and I caught up with them to talk about what they hope to do with this release.

Pearse: “The whole mission statement was, we were told so often that we’re such a good live band but it didn’t really translate to the music, so the EP was about finding a sound, our live sound, so trying to recreate that in the room. We recorded in Belfast with Matty Weir, fantastic producer. We’re really happy with how it sounds, and we kind of wanted that raw sound. Almost like what Arctic Monkeys did with their first album, where it’s so raw and just off the floor.”

Cahir: “A lot of it is recorded right off the floor, with minimal overdubs. We could’ve went wild, putting things on top of the finished track, which we like doing, and the earlier stuff has that, as does some stuff coming up, but we kept it with no more parts than we can play live.”

Pearse: “I think that was a restriction we gave ourselves on purpose.”

Cahir: “The track listing is basically the crowd pleasing songs that we did, so there’s a lot of upbeat songs on there. There’s a song called ‘American Bar’ which usually goes down well live. It’s a nice storytelling song. The EP cover is basically the story of the song, that sailing away story. The concept of the EP is, there’s no real narrative concept. It’s basically just to get the live sound.”

Pearse: “It’s a sonic concept more than anything. It’s about trying to capture how we sound live, because when we receive positive feedback it’s based upon our live sound, so it’s about capturing that, like a photograph of how we sound because we might change. When Cahir and I set out to do this thing we wanted it to be sort of liquid, and being able to flow and change with where our taste goes.”

Pearse: “We were a very tight band going into this, probably the tightest we’ve ever been. There were moments where I can remember it being quite stressful. Time was such an issue because we didn’t have any money and it was quite an expensive studio we were working in, so I really am proud of how everyone came together and got everything laid down well.”

READ MORE: MacD on Music

Finally, the story of the artwork for the EP. Cahir: “The artwork is something we struggled with for a while. We didn’t know what to do. We’re named after the children’s book Polar Bolero and the author is Debi Gliori, who’s been in contact with us and signed off on us using the name. She’s a fan of the stuff and a friend of the band, so we asked her to do the artwork for the EP and the singles, so she’s done sketch artwork for all the singles so far, and the artwork for the final EP is our favourite.”

And that’s it from Polar Bolero. Their EP ‘Singing and Sailing Away’ is out next Friday (27th February). 

Now, onto other business. First up, Consolers, who will be releasing their debut album ‘Deep Breaths’ this Friday (20th February). Consolers “came flying out of the blocks in April 2025” following their debut single ‘Inhale’. Since then, they’ve opened for the likes of Fangclub and The Wood Burning Savages and played headline gigs in Sandino’s. They’ll also be launching the album with a gig in Belfast on Friday night in Empire. Tickets for the gig are £10 plus booking fee and can be got on ticketsource.co.uk/consolers.

Next, we have another Belfast gig, the first from Motion Sickness Promotions, a new organisation that is “dedicated to showcasing the best in emo, punk and alternative music from across Ireland” and “is about more than just putting on gigs. It’s about creating a movement, a place where people who love emotionally charged, loud, honest music can discover new bands, make connections and feel part of something from the ground up”. The first ever gig will be taking place in The Union Bar in Belfast and features No Matter, TwoShoes, House of Neptune and SNAFU. Tickets are £5 plus booking fee and are on eventbrite.ie.

Lastly, we have Reflect, who will be playing Bennigan’s this Saturday (21st February), with support from Jet Black Tulips and The Waiting Room Magazines, as part of their Feeling Everything tour, having previously played Derry's Nerve Centre last year opening for Cora Harkin. Based on that gig alone, it’s safe to say Reflect are one of the best up-and-coming bands around today so this is definitely a gig not to miss. Tickets are £8 plus booking fee and can be found on skiddle.com.

Finally, time for the socials. Reflect can be found on Instagram @reflectbelfast, Motion Sickness @motionsicknessbelfast, Consolers @consolersband and Polar Bolero @polarbolero.