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Pressed on 180g vinyl
Cult musician Paddy Hanna announces his forthcoming album Oylegate with the release of his new song ‘Oylegate Station’, out Wednesday, 29th January via Strange Brew Records.
After his fourth album, Imagine I’m Hoping, arrived to critical acclaim but not the mainstream success needed for him to continue on as a musician, Hanna found himself at a personal and artistic low point. However, thanks to support from the Arts Council and the encouragement of his family, ‘Oylegate Station’ sees Hanna returning as the intrepid captain of his own ship; he may not know the destination, but he’ll see us along the journey with his graceful pop sensibilities.
Speaking about the new track, Hanna’s cryptic explanation could be confused for a missive from a lonely cosmonaut: “Low rent fuel, caffeine of all shapes, the midpoint of hope and despair, engine still running at Oylegate Station.”
Elation and exhaustion. Love and terror. The weight of responsibility and the strange, disorienting beauty of watching life unfold before your eyes. OLYEGATE, the latest album from Paddy Hanna, is a journey through the euphoric highs and crushing lows of parenthood, delivered with his signature blend of melancholic wit and lush, off-kilter charm.
Determined to sidestep the usual sentimental trappings of writing about having a child, Hanna found an unlikely creative companion in grim Soviet-era cinema. As he wrote, films like Solaris flickered in the background—bleak, meditative landscapes that mirrored the depths of sleep deprivation and the existential wonder of bringing a new life into the world. This contrast of warmth and detachment, of intimate revelation and surreal detour, courses through the album’s DNA.
Despite its moments of cold introspection, OLYEGATE is sonically rich and enveloping—an effect captured in a single request to producer Daniel Fox: "sweet, sweet caramel." Hanna wanted the music to feel like satin lining the listener’s ears, wrapping them in warmth even when the themes tilt towards darkness.
True to form, OLYEGATE marks yet another creative leap for an artist who refuses to be boxed in. "One advantage of being an ‘artist’s artist’ is that you never have to worry about being creatively different between albums. There's real freedom in doing whatever you want and not being judged for it. And even if you are judged, who gives a shit?"
That spirit of fearless exploration—of finding joy in the unknown, the absurd, and the deeply personal—defines OLYEGATE. An odyssey of tenderness and turbulence, it’s the sound of an artist embracing life’s messiest, most beautiful contradictions.
Limited edition 12” on Buffalo Yellow vinyl. Releases 21 October 2022
There are few artists who could count Burt Bacharach and Fontaines DC amongst their fans but Paddy is one of them. The Dubliner has long eschewed passing fads in favour of timeless melodies and fine songwriting, leading indie music bible The Quietus to call him “a songwriter with a propensity for wildly infectious hooks and choruses that burrow into your brain with no intention of leaving.”
One thing is for sure, since 2014’s debut Leafy Stiletto, 2018’s Frankly, I Mutuate, and 2020’s The Hill, Paddy has been basking in the light of something quite pure, and perhaps unexpected from someone who has previously been influenced by darker subject matter—love.
“Everything about this new record is borne out of love, which is the first time I can say that,” he says. “During the pandemic, I got engaged and married. The album was recorded while there was a baby in my wife’s belly. Everyone who worked on the album, I have the greatest affection for. It was just a lovely experience. It was love on top of love. The album, thematically, is about letting go of things.”
Album opener ‘Look For Tomorrow,’ with its bright strums of guitar and Paddy’s impressive falsetto, certainly embodies this sentiment of moving on from the past. The song ends on a bombastic note, buoyed by brass fanfare; it’s a watershed moment to prepare us for the rest of Imagine I’m Hoping.
‘A Dancer’ follows with indie fervour: furiously cascading piano, sleigh bells on the chorus, and an ebullience that propels you to the dancefloor. Paddy’s delivery is whisper-soft on the classic pop tune ‘New York Sidewalk,’ made with the help of frequent collaborator Daniel Fox (Gilla Band).
“The whole crux of ‘New York Sidewalk’ is that things in life that happen that can be bad can become funny in later life, you know,” he explains. “So, like, going to New York and trying to make a name for yourself out there, but instead making a tit out of yourself. But then the song ends looking back in a bit of a Hemingway situation, where you’re telling the story to someone and it’s like ‘It made you laugh, saw you smiling, that’ll do.’ See what I mean? It’s about not being a victim to the past anymore.”
The record as a whole is cinematic; ‘Say Goodbye’ and ‘Yellow Buffalo’ would be right at home in a modern Western, thrumming with harmonica and rattling, Americana-inspired percussion. The jazzy ‘Symphony Bacalao’ is positively vaudevillian, and Paddy shows off his unexpected sense of humour here, declaring, “Oh, what a shit show!”
Rollicking single ‘Yoko Ono’ is accompanied by an appropriately colourful and bizarre music video featuring a surreal talent show and Paddy himself, of course. Directed and edited by Alex Lynch (who’s previously worked on videos for SOAK, Irish Women in Harmony, and more) and Liam Farrell, the video proves just as playful as the song itself.
Paddy says: "I feel the directors and crew captured the fear, anxiety and joyful absurdity of a performer's life. Perhaps the most concerning part is that despite the video's peculiarities, it mirrors reality to an almost uncomfortable degree."
“The song started as an improvised rap about Mike love from The Beach Boys, and over time it mutated into a cheerful bop about an identity crisis. There isn’t a day where I don’t feel like an imposter, so why not write a catchy tune about it,” he shares.
The much-anticipated follow-up to 2020’s The Hill, this new record has already gained early acclaim with lead single ‘New York Sidewalk’ proving one jangly, jovial chord at a time that it is possible to climb the radio charts with a song that as far from generic as they come. Nialler9 wrote that it “bursts with shimmering piano notes, parps of brass and gorgeous backing” and Stereogum speculating that the “wistful, lush song, all plinking piano and cooing background vocals” may be signalling a new direction for Hanna.
With a new, more optimistic Paddy Hanna now in the driving seat, 2022 may well be the year that this idiosyncratic underdog rises up to take his rightful place centre-stage.
The new single
Dublin-based songwriter Paddy Hanna’s forthcoming album The Hill. The Hill, will be released on September 25th.
The album features Girl Band’s Adam Faulkner and Daniel Fox on Drums & Double Bass, Daniel Fitzpatrick (Badhands, The Mighty Stef) on guitar & Keys and Jill Redmond on Vocals. The record was produced by Daniel Fox and the artwork was designed by Jill Redmond.
Paddy explains further about the album – “We lost ourselves on the Hill, Daniel, Daniel, Adam and I. a seemingly endless spell of isolation spent banging sheet metal, rusted hubcaps and blistering our fingers through non stop recording.
The Hill is an internal musical about how the past and the present exist at the same time in our minds. It deals with the struggles of mental health, the sometimes difficult search for happiness and the moral conflict of growing up in Catholic Ireland.
As a listener I want you to take a seat inside my head, to smell the west cork air, to feel the gravel under your feet. In order to get this we set up ambient mics outside our makeshift studio to capture the natural landscape, we wandered boatyards and an abandoned train station recording old bits of metal we would clang, to give the album a sense of place. Sonically we also wanted to step away from the String sections used on Leafy Stiletto, opting instead to create melodies and tones using vocals and synthesisers.
Most importantly however, I just wanted to put the past behind me on this record, I wanted to leave it on the hill. I hope you enjoy my therapy”.
The Hill album artwork on Gildan Softstyle™ t-shirts (100% soft style yarn cotton).
Ships on 25 September
Lyrics for The Hill album on Gildan Softstyle™ t-shirts (100% soft style yarn cotton)
The Hill album art cotton Long Handle Tote Bag in Natural which are 140gsm in weight. Album art one side and sleeve text on the other.
Print on 300gsm white recycled board from the artwok by Jill Redmond
Dublin-based songwriter Paddy Hanna today reveals “Toulouse The Kisser”, another track from his forthcoming album Frankly, I Mutate, which will be out 2nd March.
As Paddy explains about the new single - It’s a travelogue of drunken misadventure, watching your future waste away and accepting you will become the person to whom people say, "at least I’m not that poor fool".
"Wickedly smart... a softly sweet and catchy little gem" - NME
"One of Ireland's finest songwriters" - Totally Dublin
“An Irish take on a young Richard Hawley” – Q
"Elegant, absorbing stuff" - Loud & Quiet
"Boundless energy and confidence" - DIY
“Bewitching” – The Line Of Best Fit
"Wonderful" - GoldFlakePaint
"Awesome" - Goldenplec
"Awesome" - Joe.ie
Modelled (& modified) here by designer Jill, this is lovely navy tshirt that you should own.
Paddy Hanna will release a rendition of beloved Burt Bacharach single ‘The Look of
Love’ on Friday, July 24th via Strange Brew.
The single comes with the announcement of a full-length Bacharach homage
album, titled Paddy Hanna’s Bacharach Show Vol.1, releasing Friday, November
20th.
Paddy Hanna performs at Galway International Arts Festival on Sunday, 26th July.
Tickets are available from giaf.ie
‘The Look of Love’ follows May’s double A-Side single ‘Walk on By’ with ‘What’s New
Pussycat’
, which earned praise from RTÉ Radio 1, Nialler9, Hot Press and more as a
refreshed rendition that warmly honoured Hanna’s musical hero.
In 2019, Hanna supported Bacharach for two nights at the Galway International Arts
Festival, where the six-time GRAMMY award winner was so impressed with Hanna’s
opening performance, that he invited him onstage for an ecstatic encore on the
second night, performing ‘Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head’ (watch here).
During a difficult period of his life, Bacharach’s act of kindness transformed Paddy’s
outlook, where today the memory continues to fuel his determination, love and his
mission to share irresistible songs with the world.
Hanna makes his eager return to the Galway International Arts Festival on July 26th
to perform his Bacharach show.
On his version of ‘Walk on By’
, most famously performed by Dusty Springfield, Hanna
says:
“I discovered that when you pitch Dusty Springfields range down an octave or
two, it sits very comfortably with my voice. She also had such an impressive
ability to go big while somehow remaining intimate. I tend to be rather
manic in my approach, so to slip into her shoes proved a very comfortable
experience.
”On the arrangement of the song, he adds:
“We planned to have a trumpet solo, but we loved the space and feel that the
room created, a big ‘ol trumpet solo would have drowned it all out. Let me
put that in culinary terms: Lets say you make a perfect bowl of pasta with the
freshest tomatoes, perfect al dente pasta and extra virgin olive oil, and then
you put loads of ketchup on it. You haven't destroyed the meal but you've
drowned out the most important flavors.
”
Recorded in only three days with producer (and bassist) Chris Barry, Paddy Hanna’s
Bacharach Show Vol.1, is a joyous tribute album to Bacharach’s timeless sound,
brought to life by Hanna’s signature wit, charm and infectious energy. The album
also features Daniel Fitzpatrick (Badhands, Chuck Squires) and Brendan Doherty
(Villagers, Van Morrison), with Daniel Fox (Gilla Band) on mixing duties.
Following swiftly after the release of his acclaimed fifth album Oylegate in 2025 (4
stars, The Irish Times), Hanna embraces one of his most ambitious creative
undertakings yet: A homage album celebrating positivity, gratitude and the
transformative power of kindness.
Limited edition 7" single
Galway garage rockers Shark School ‘Choose Life’ with their raucous new single, out on Wednesday, 25th September via Strange Brew. The four-piece release the track just before taking Dublin by storm with their Ireland Music Week show on Friday, 4th October in the Workman’s Cellar at 11:10pm.
Tongue-in-cheek yet cathartic, Shark School jolt themselves out of the doldrums with head-banging guitar on ‘Choose Life’ and order anyone within earshot to “Stop wasting away on your mind numbing shit.”
The band tell listeners: “Hey there, are you looking to make a decision? Well boy does Shark School have the answer for you! ‘Choose Life’ is a journey through the depths of space and time and into the realm of girl garage. Designed to make you laugh, cry and go, ‘Hmmmm that was lovely,’ this song will have you nodding your head in approval so hard that you'll wake up with whiplash.”
Nora Staunton (guitar, vocals), Peggy Ford (bass), Meg Bruce (percussion, backing vocals) and Cathal Curran (drums) formed Shark School in June of 2023 and have quickly made a name for themselves playing with celebrated Irish acts, including NewDad, The Love Buzz, Elaine Malone and many more. The group have played at the festivals Beyond The Pale, All Together Now, Electric Picnic, Whelan's Ones to Watch and Fall Right Into Place, as well as touring all over Ireland and in the UK. They are known for their energetic sets, punctuated by their sarcastic wit.
12" version of the album, complete with lyrics sheet
Limited Edition 10” Vinyl
Ships on 10/06/23
Following his latest, highly acclaimed sophomore record "The Great Irish Famine", Junior Brother announces today a one of a kind E.P., which is one long song called "Junior Brother's Favourite". A final chapter in the strange yet stunning worlds conjured up by his previous three releases, "Junior Brother's Favourite" swings for the heavens and never lets go.
"This song was written on the day I moved back to Dublin after the first 3 months of the 2020 lockdown spent at home in Co. Kerry. After that long-feeling period of uncertainty and writers' block at home, I sat to try once more to write something. As soon as I did, the flow returned in a rush of focus never before felt - the atmospheres of home so crucial to my work returned again only upon my leaving. Everything which silently built up during the previous few months was suddenly spit up and staked to the front of my subconcious in a dizzying frenzy. Uncharged images from the months of nothingness now beckoned meaning, and meanings more images, until field was followed by meadow, then beach, then sea, until everything reached the sky, and fear became my favourite, and the darkness was chiseled to try to look like love."
Recorded by John "Spud" Murphy in the atmospheric Hellfire Studios in the Dublin Mountains, "Junior Brother's Favourite" features Junior's new band in full for the first time on record - This comes in anticipation for a full band run through the UK in April, where the new single plus many more will be performed in full by the Junior Brother Band. More band dates are to be announced very soon.
Limited edition altar wine red vinyl
Altar wine red vinyl, with vinyl exclusive track, Isolation Blues.
Limited edition altar wine red 7” backed with vinyl only track. Ships in October
Limited edition red 7” backed with exclusive track Shane McGowan’s Jowls
Compact Disc
Limited Edition gold 7" backed with a vinyl only exclusive B-Side.
“I wrote this song in response to the tangible feeling of dread and anxiety I felt across Dublin city during my first few months living there. Increasingly hostile and violent evictions, police complicity in such acts, the housing crisis in general, among other factors seemed to cultivate a distrust of authority, particularly in the youth of the country. The day after a police-backed violent eviction of peaceful protestors from an abandoned house in North Frederick Street, Dublin, I stood with many others my age outside the empty house, and remarked upon seeing the photograph of the balaclava'd police next to the thugs dressed in all black that you couldn't tell the goons from the guards. I joined the dots between this line of inquiry and the expectations of masculinity in society, which in turn led me around to posit the notion that a better society does not come quick, and before things change, this future must "wait like a woman", in hope and frustration."
“"The blades of razors split the sky long after this poem was put onto a page a few years ago. The recording of the song to tape happened to finally come just before all our worlds closed down. It found its true meaning shortly thereafter with the new shape the world span in accentuating its sentiments. Although allegorical, I believe this song speaks for itself. Aren't you glad we're not alone?”
LIFE’S NEW HAIRCUT is the brand new single from Junior Brother, out on 18 October, on limited edition pink 7”, with exclusive b-side, Moon Acre. It’s available for pre-order now
A fine big Mug (15oz / 426ml) for your tea, or whatever.
Dublin-born, London-based artist/producer Michael Orange, better known as Feather Beds, shares his jangly post-punk single ‘Sport of Boxing’, on Wednesday, 5 April, 2023, the second off his upcoming album Softer Measures. The immersive new LP will be released on Friday, 26 May, 2023 on 12" vinyl and digitally via Strange Brew.
‘Sport of Boxing’ kicks off the second half of the album with New Wave-esque immediacy. The influence of The Cure, Cleaners From Venus, and more contemporary artists like Women bleed through as reverb washes over the listener.
“Lyrically, it's about trying to figure out who and what is good for you in your life,” Orange says of ‘Sport of Boxing’.
The new song follows lead single ‘Really Disney’, which received an enthusiastic reception from music fans in Ireland. ‘Really Disney’ enjoyed a first play from Dan Hegarty on RTÉ 2fm and a rave review in the March edition of The GOO, which called the track “deliciously off-kilter” and noted that it “augurs brilliantly for the album release.” Feather Beds also shared Neil Tolliday’s (of Bent and Champyun Clouds) dreamy remix of ‘Really Disney’ on 23 March, 2023.
Having been based in Montreal for a few years and then back to Dublin, the new LP sees Orange in London full-time and adopting a more austere approach to songwriting by incorporating elements of noise and drone alongside a backdrop of jangly guitars, homemade samples, and washed-out harmonies. Orange takes inspiration from math and prog rock, with unconventional time signatures hidden under the melodic surface of his music. Taking on production duties himself and working again with long-time collaborator Stephen Shannon (Mount Alaska, Strands) on mixing duties, Orange is due to make a triumphant return with Softer Measures.
Out now
Limited Edition Vinyl.
The Imaginary Museum is the debut album by Dublin’s Autre Monde. It is available for pre-order on 180g 12” Turmeric vinyl with download code.
Not Squares have been busy weaving a pop sensibility into a stream of danceable grooves ready for release at the end of April 2015. Their new album 'Bolts' features ten tracks that dip into a rich pool of keys, bass, vocals and drums designed to be heard as a seamless mix from start to finish. The record deliberately echoes and references itself throughout, punctuated by disco chorusses, garagey basslines and reminders of early House-music’s four to the floor jams.
‘Bolts’ is released on Galway’s Strange Brew Rekkids on limited edition vinyl alongside an Irish tour. Their live set is still as visceral as ever with staples such as 'Asylum' and 'Release the Bees' sitting alongside new live favourites 'Beat Below', 'Fall Far' and their current single 'Oops Said Hi’.
“Belfast trio Not Squares clearly know the power of a spoken refrain in amongst relentless trance synths and electronic thumps…And boy does it work! This’ll keep Not Squares going for some time.” - Loud and Quiet
“Not Squares are currently getting music critic’s collective undercrackers in a bunch and from a quick listen it’s easy to see why this mob are making all the right moves.” – NME
12” Vinyl with deluxe gatefold sleeve.
‘You’ is the debut album from Irish band Meltybrains?. It has been years in the making - an exploration of the journey of five young men, trying to get from one end of their 20s to the other. Much like the making of the album, this journey was trickier than any of them thought it would be.
This record is for you, from you and of you. It’s an absolute beginner’s guide to the microcosm, the macrocosm and everything in between.
It’s also a bit of fun and a pretty good record, combining influences from footwork, drone and j-pop with krautrock, psychedelia and prog.
12” Vinyl special edition with Mirror Card outer sleeve & deluxe gatefold sleeve.
‘You’ is the debut album from Irish band Meltybrains?. It has been years in the making - an exploration of the journey of five young men, trying to get from one end of their 20s to the other. Much like the making of the album, this journey was trickier than any of them thought it would be.
This record is for you, from you and of you. It’s an absolute beginner’s guide to the microcosm, the macrocosm and everything in between.
It’s also a bit of fun and a pretty good record, combining influences from footwork, drone and j-pop with krautrock, psychedelia and prog.
Galway-based composer and singer Anna Mullarkey bridges the gap between Irish traditional
music and ambient sounds of the future, all while telling stirring, intimate stories.
On Friday 19th August, 2022, Anna will release her debut album Falling via Strange Brew, reflecting on love in all its forms. The album will be available to order at http://strangebrew.ie/ and all digital outlets.
While this is her first LP record, Anna is far from a newcomer on the Irish music scene. She released her debut EP Spéir in 2020. The Irish Times wrote that it would be “hard not to be impressed” by Anna’s talent, and Irish Theatre Magazine hailed her as “if a sultry ménage of Björk/Billie Holiday/Philip Glass got together at the Wickerman Festival.” She’s previously composed music for plays, short films, and documentaries, including TG4’s intro theme to Cumasc: seisiúin sa Black Gate. Anna weaves a rich tapestry of sound with her honeyed vocals and delicate compositions, transporting listeners instantaneously. Instead of soundtracking others’ stories, though, Falling is a chance for Anna to explore the many facets of human connection and “how we fall in and out of love.”
This love isn’t restricted to romance; the opening track ‘Call It’ touches on a friendship break-up. The liquidy production of Frankie J Pollard evokes the lapping of water on a beach, while a smattering of piano, flute, flutes, double bass, fiddle, and harp flit in and out of the track. Just like these waves of sound, friendships are changeable, subject to their own tides and currents and sometimes ebbing out of our lives.
Anna also found inspiration in the popular Netflix show Stranger Things, with ‘The Upside Down’ documenting what it would be like to travel to another dimension because you are “hopelessly in love” with someone. Swelling, distorted vocals give the sense that you’re on your own immersive journey to The Upside Down. The album, which was recorded between the Beekeepers in County Clare and Black Gate Studio in her native Galway, also gave Anna the chance to revisit ‘Damhsa Mall,’ a song originally commissioned for Samhlú-Croí Cruthaitheach. Anna’s voice is dreamy over the steady drone of the accordion. “I wanted to celebrate my partner’s grandmother and her love story,” Anna says. “The song is written from her perspective as she recounts a night where she was brought to a dance on a bicycle wearing a pretty dress as the stars lit up the sky.”
The album’s heart is ‘Holding,’ which pays homage to Anna’s folk music roots and was written for her mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer. “It’s a song about finding the strength to be the support for someone else,” Anna explains. Over melodic piano, she implores us to have hope and hold on in the face of adversity. Banjo, bodhrán, cello, and drums rise in the background, likewise lifting up the listener’s spirits.
In the second half of Falling, Anna ruminates on the darker side of love, whether deciding to walk away from a toxic relationship on ‘Tough Love’ or realising a romance has died on the lead single ‘Falling Apart.’ The music video for ‘Falling Apart,’ directed by Anna’s sister Mia Mullarkey, explores this narrative through contemporary dance with dancers Robyn Byrne and Emily Kilkenny Roddy as a couple as they find themselves both bound together while growing in different directions. ‘Please’ is a haunting plea for authenticity, built around a string quartet performed by Ciara O’Connor on cello and violin. Anna shows off her versatility on ‘Ar Buile’ (roughly translating to ‘Furious’ in Irish) by blending trip-hop with acid drum and bass. Predominantly as Gaeilge, she sings about exhaustion and anger as a fuzzy, lo-fi bassline throbs in the background.
The song ‘Uisce’ was originally written for the VR theater show Ar Ais Arís by Brú Theater, featured as part of the Galway 2020 / NUIG Aistriú project. Shimmering, cascading piano entrances the listener before turning somber. “I was moved by the poem by Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill ‘Cuimhne an Uisce,’ which explores identity and place,” Anna shares. “This song brings the album to a more intimate place and explores the heartbreak that happens when you reject parts of yourself. Having grown up in Inishturk for a year when I was young, the theme of the sea has a strong effect on me and I love how this poem brings the sea to life in a new way.”
As the album comes to a close, Anna sings us to ‘Sleep.’ The hypnotic track is anything but lethargic, though, with thumping percussion and playful flute driving the listener to the dancefloor. Anna leaves us with a sense of hope “as night becomes day.”
Own your very own limited edition tshirt - please note, unless ordered in time, we cannot guarantee delivery by 09 January! Orders will be shipped asap or available for collection at the Torann Merch Stall
Own your very own limited edition tshirt - please note, unless ordered in time, we cannot guarantee delivery by 09 January! Orders will be shipped asap or available for collection at the Torann Merch Stall.
Your very own Torann Hoodie. Black. So very black.
Download a free copy of the 2026 Poster
Transparent vinyl with gatefold sleeve and digital download
Moving sale! We are moving all our stock to our new location, so we are having a sale! First up, the Strange Brew Mystery Box - what's in it? Who knows. Could be anything...but you are guaranteed two 12" records minimum, with other goodies thrown in. Maybe another record or two. Maybe t-shirts, maybe hats or bags. Who knows what we will find? Sizes are just for a guideline - t-shirts not guaranteed in every order. The perfect present for yourself or stock up early on Christmas or birthday presents.
Each poster is a 3-colour screen print handprinted on to splendorgel avorio 300gm paper stock in an edition of 100 signed and numbered prints. Designed by Craig Carry.
Keep your strange brews nice and cool with this Strange Brew koozie.
48 page A6 300gsm brown recycled board covered notebook with 90 gsm dotted paper or
48 page A5 300gsm gray recycled board covered notebook with 90 gsm dotted paper
Strange Brew logo on cover and the Strangey by Scott logo on the inside cover
