Ireland's modernlove. will help you let go on the dance floor with their emo indie-pop

modernlove. are from Drogheda, a rural town in Ireland with a population of 40,000 people, surrounded by fields of sheep and cattle. The indie-pop four-piece never had the intention of starting a band. First and foremost, they were friends who loved music. 

Now, though, they’re embarking on their debut US tour, which just kicked off in early March and goes through the end of the month — and already has a string of sold-out dates. As modernlove.‘s popularity has only grown since the pandemic, this small-town Irish band is dreaming of indie world domination. 

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“We did our first-ever headlining tour in the UK [in 2022], and that somehow managed to completely sell out everywhere,” says frontman Barry Lally. “Releasing music during the lockdown, and not hearing or seeing any tangible evidence that someone was listening — it was great to go on tour and see the people that vibed with it and that it was worth something to them.” 

It’s no wonder people are connecting with their sound. Their indie-pop sound is resonant of the artists fans grew up on, such as Two Door Cinema Club and the 1975. Essentially, modernlove. is a shining example of a group who takes their influences, but makes a beloved sound their own — crafting a pop-punk-inspired take on electro-alt pop.

[Photo by Daniel Harris]

The band is made up of four childhood friends; Barry Lally (vocals/guitar), Graham Fagan (guitar), Danny Rooney (bass) and Cian McCluskey (drums). They write about everything 20 somethings experience, from unrequited love and breakups to going out and poor mental health. Struggle with being unintentionally destructive to the people around you? Give “Ruin Your Night” a listen. A bit anxious about everything going on in the world and want to escape? The melancholy melody and lyrics of “Take Me Far Away” will do just that. 

On their most recent releases, like the aforementioned tracks which appear on their 2023 EP Only Ever Only You, they’ve created a cohesive sound that goes beyond their influences. While the 1975 guitar tones shone through their 2021 EP monochrome blue, now they’re looking towards elements of emo and punk, and lyrically tapping into the brutal honesty that emo music is known for.

“Sharing parts of yourself that you’re not too confident in, and seeing that reflected back in a bunch of people who all feel the same about certain things, or have gone through the same things, it makes you feel validated,” says Lally. 

Although, before the band was making emotional alt-pop anthems, they were just practicing in a shed in the country. Lally explains he joined his bandmates, who were just mates playing together at the time when they were in high school in the mid-2010s. He says, “They were jamming out in [his] shed down in the countryside, and he asked me if I would like to sit in and sing a few songs. I think it was Van Halen, which I couldn’t even nearly sing… It wasn’t the greatest first practice.”

After he transferred schools to be closer to “the band” and bassist Danny Rooney joined them, things clicked, and the first song they ever wrote together (“Us”) was a success and later appeared on their 2022 EP Oh My Mind.

Songs come about a bit more intentionally for modernlove. nowadays; for them, it’s all about crafting songs with a sense of catharsis. “When we’re writing songs and writing lyrics, we’re always looking to sort something out,” Lally says. “You start from a very desolate, dark, melancholic place, but as you’re writing about it, you’re getting your head around it and addressing and dealing with it, releasing the emotions, so you can begin to enjoy the song as you’re doing that.”

Even with that, the “end goal” for the band is “to enjoy the song.” “The song lyrics can start in a very sad, depressing place, but for that catharsis to happen, we want to be dancing to it. Whatever the song may be about, however sad the narrative is, or how much the theme or the topic is getting us down, by the end of the song, you just want to enjoy it.” 

modernlove.’s development is not only within their lyrics. It’s also within the emerging new wave of alt-pop bands that they and bands like London’s Honeyglaze are a part of — bands whose influences come from the 1975 and Two Door Cinema Club, but also emo acts like Taking Back Sunday. It’s as if it’s a sound modernized for a post-lockdown era that’s looking to feel catharsis on the dance floor — making modernlove.’s name quite on the nose then. 

With the embrace of their sound and first-ever tour, it also seems like this small-town Irish band’s dreams are starting to come true.