The hidden gem of the Irish indie scene, His Father’s Voice released their long-awaited debut album, Black Poison Morning. With a sound that walks the line between post-punk and new wave, they weave between the two genres creating something vulnerable and strong. Intriguing as their sound is the album artwork which draws you in through knotted black strands overlapping and twisting around themselves, messy crass brushstrokes sitting on the edge of a canvas as an artist takes out frustration on their latest piece. This seems to point in a darker direction. But what’s inside varies, sometimes dark and heavy as the cover would have you believe and other times exploring a brighter soundscape.
Black Poison Morning may feel somewhat cathartic for the group whose release schedule has been inconsistent, after forming in 2018 when Ash O’Connor (vocals) and James Reidy (lead guitar) met Laya Meabhdh Kenny (bass) and Cian Mcguirk (drums). Both pairs had been trying to create music and gelled after attending DIY LK (Limerick City independent collective) shows together. The stream of tentative singles and EPs began to trickle out during 2019. However, we then abruptly see no more releases from them for five years until 2024. Not that this time was spent idle, featuring in Out of Place a documentary focusing on the difficulties local artists in Limerick face navigating the lack of space to create. What His Father’s Voice presents now is an album all-encompassing of the group’s work hitting the past, present, and alluding to the future.
Musical tones of murkiness, euphoria, and unease are touched upon throughout Black Poison Morning. It begins strong with loud wailing guitars, climbing drums, and piercing vocals in “The Blues” and “Night Terrors.” “The Blues” is a chaotic anthem with a touch of vocal somberness keeping it grounded in the indie aesthetic. It’s further complimented with a black-and-white video filled with twisted and contorted dance moves adding another layer of spookiness and eeriness. “Night Terrors” originally creates exactly what the song describes with a broody and atmospheric intro of sequential chords. It develops allowing itself to open up into a sublime pairing of vocals and guitar that echoes longing. You can’t help but get lost in the high-frequency riff looping throughout. These two exciting and heavy songs suck the listener in giving them one side of a group that has much more to say for themselves than this loud and brass beginning.
With little waiting around His Father’s Voice reveals their other distinctively more modern side. The lovely step and sway in “Through The Thorns” opens with the lyrics, “Needing some control never finds an answer” which is echoed thematically in sound. It can be described as elegant through its steady drum beat and ringing chords however, it stays linked to post-punk ideas with a chaotic steady crescendo escaping the original control of the song. “Forgot To Feed,” another striking track, fully shows off the new-age aspect of the band. The song is light and easy, compiled of pitched-up synths matching the vocals tit for tat. “Arms Length” then kicks in with snappy drums reminiscent of the Linn Drum machine, these clicks and clacks make way for a gorgeous, nostalgic jam. The track’s lyrics focus on the theme of lust with lines like “You spread into me…. / Just as easily as you butter me up” but can be escaped quite easily with the melody painting pictures of road trips, sunsets, and the start of summer in your head. Throughout Black Poison Morning, they utilize buildups well with big crescendos adding weight to every song.
From the beginning, O’Connor’s vocals hit you hard. Her voice is a beautiful blend of rawness and poignancy that is inescapable with a strong command of the songs. With this strength, she doesn’t get lost when the crescendos peak. It’s put on show in “Emotional Embargo,” which features some support vocals from the rest of the group. They reveal themselves in a different light through the last track giving listeners a slower, longer piece with a glossing of epicness to see the project out. “I only reminisce the longer that I’m here” coupled with “We don’t have as much time as we think” paints a picture of a breakup that has weighed heavy on the songwriter. A steady energy grows throughout with clear musical inspiration from The Smashing Pumpkins. It’s great to see that an album comprised of a lot of previously released material doesn’t drop the standard with new tracks such as this one.
Black Poison Morning contributes an authentic Irish take to the post-punk and new wave genre, that shows refusing to stick to one formula leads to a refreshing listening experience. Like all genres anything that becomes too repetitive becomes tedious. This album compiles tracks navigating a journey across heavy, classic post-punk and uplifting, airy new wave, finishing with peaking ballads to create a cohesive collection that doesn’t allow you to step away. Taking inspiration from the greats—Drahla, Molchat Domma, and Altered Hours—and wrapping it in their standout vocal identity and wide range of musical stylings works well for the band. This release announces their presence to the world in a defiant yet calculated manner that has been crafted over many years of work, seeming to say “Good things come to those who wait.”
