As anyone who regularly reads Covert Music Club will be aware, there is no shortage of quality Irish music just waiting to be discovered.
Another one of these acts is the Dublin alternative rock band, Athens. The brain child of vocalist Alison Quigley and guitarist Chris Ledwidge, the two have put themselves at the centre of the project giving them full control over the music that they create. The culmination in this creativity came with the release of the debut EP by the band back in early April of this year, Awake.
The EP was a collection of four songs that showcased everything that the band was aiming for. Driven by the outstanding guitar playing of Ledwidge complimenting the powerful vocals of Quigley, it marked a powerful first step by the duo.
The EP opens with the track Reckless,and immediately we are shown the atmospheric and deep sound that the band are trying for. The guitar riff that moves through the song expertly captures the emotion of the duo as both Ledwidge and Quigley’s vocals compliment each other beautifully during the choruses on this track.
Alison Quigley has a voice that can effortlessly convince you of the sentiments of any song with it’s rawness and texture, and no where is this more in evidence that on the follow up tracks to the EP opener Reckless , Screaming and Awake. Their is vulnerability to the vocals on these two songs, expertly captured by Ledwidge on guitar. The instrumentation on Awake is particularly powerful with the introduction of violin by Malgorzata Gasior adding an extra texture to the whole track. Special mention as well to the drumming across the EP, provided by Adrien Galta.
The EP finishes with the track November which stands as the perfect summation of the musical ideas that we have seen portrayed across the extended play.
A very solid foray into music for the talented Dublin outfit.
MK
Covert Music Club 