Brand new retro

New Cavan band 'Dirty Marmalade'.

Like the last remnants at the bottom of a past-sell-by-date jar of jam sitting at the back of the fridge, Cavan band ‘Dirty Marmalade’ sounds a little bit scuzzy, delivered with a knife edge of punk. Above all, they are fun to listen to.

Their sound is cathartic, yet melodically cheerful, a jangle-pop driven version of the post-punk revival that has swept the likes of Wet Leg et al into the mainstream.

From shooting music videos on analogue VHS to DIY recording new tracks in a sound proofed bedroom and snapping band photos on old 35mm, Dirty Marmalade have certainly taken an old school approach to tackling the question of how best to crack their way into the music industry.

Best friends Donny McAvenue (guitar, vocals) and Emil Kapusta (drums) announced their arrival to the scene, locally at least, with a lights out performance at the Cavan Arts Festival in May, and intend to follow that up next month when taking to the stage as one of a number of local acts at Sing For Me 2023.

For Dirty Marmalade the Cavan Arts Fest was one of those occasions that just seemed to ooze colour, bleeding into one another, the air thick with static.

In preparation, and to settle any last minute nerves, the two-piece turned three-piece (adding Aaron McTigue on bass) with a live set at Cavan’s Blessing’s Bar the night before.

“It was brilliant just to get out there and play. We’ve been sitting on these songs for so long. We formed the band in 2019, and maybe started writing really in 2020. When lockdown happened, that’s when we started recording. There was nothing else to do, so we concentrated on that.”

Tech-savvy Emil records, produces and also edits the band’s videos after converting them to digital. The childhood school friends studied music at third level, and for now, are happy doing everything on a smaller scale. They released their first single ‘Why Else?’ back in May, along with a video that subliminally drip-feeds when they plan to release more content.

The song itself is instantly relatable. It carries a musical pattering similar to anything off The Smith’s landmark ‘The Queen is Dead’, and is delivered on a flood of thumping drums.

“The video for ‘Why Else?’ has all these hidden messages in there,” explains Belturbet-native Donny, who is excited about the prospects going forward. “We’re going to be releasing two more singles across the summer, and we want to release an EP towards the end of the year, maybe with five or six songs on that.”

It’s admittedly very early days, but already Dirty Marmalade have received praise from their peers, who have been more than eager to show guidance to and encourage another fledging band strive to make a name for themselves.

Donny adds: “The plan, looking ahead even to next year even, is to put out an album, so that’s our main goal for now.

“We also want to try make our way into the festival circuit as well for next summer, and put on a couple of headline gigs too maybe closer to home.”