Dylan Flynn & The Dead Poets make songs that come from the heart. The Limerick group are aiming for pure communication – surging Indie-Rock that comes with a pop openness, their widescreen yet down-to-earth musicality has a viral appeal, yet remains DIY in origin. 2023 saw the band self-produce and release their debut album and take on their biggest shows to date – packing and selling- out rooms across the UK & Ireland. 1,000,000 streams later, support slots with the likes of NewDad and Kingfishr, and continuous radio support in the UK & Ireland, has shown that these lads are one’s to watch for 2024. At times they recall the buster of The War On Drugs, or the vitality carried by Gang Of Youths; there’s a nod to Radiohead’s raw emotion, or Springsteen’s surging passion – with their songs speaking to twenty-somethings living in a country that completely ignores them.
‘the story after they’re gone’ is the sophomore album from Limerick natives, Dylan Flynn & The Dead Poets. The Indie Rock 5-piece released their ambitious debut album, ‘how are you feeling today?’, last year and now they are back with an updated sound. The debut gained widespread praise across Ireland, including a 4th place spot on Hot Press’s ‘Irish Debut Albums’ list – joined by peers such as Grian Chatten, Somebody’s Child and Rachael Lavelle.
Flynn – “This album started to come about pretty soon after we released our debut last year, and I felt the themes were carrying over. Even though it’s a separate project, the stories feel like an extension, and the title reflects that. A lot of the people involved in the stories of the first album are gone now, and these new songs talk about the aftermath of that, so ‘the story after they’re gone’ made sense as a title.”
The album sees the band expanding their palate, taking influences from Irish-Folk, Country and Americana, to create a genre they call ‘Indie-Twang’ – but this is met with a darker 90s Alt-Rock edge that shows the band leaning into some heavier influences. Pop tendencies are still sprinkled throughout, but this new sound shows clear progression from their Indie-Rock/Pop that was heard on their first EP and debut album.
The opening track, ‘the story after they’re gone’, is a Country-Rock inspired track that follows a stream of consciousness story line where the narrator ponders his life after losing everyone around him. It opens with softly picked guitar, that is contrasted with an up-tempo drum beat to mirror the idea of someone’s mind spiralling. As it progresses, swirling pedal steel and saxophone are sprinkled throughout to create a dream-like atmosphere.
“When thinking about how we wanted our new record to sound, the idea of leaning into Country music kept coming up. We had experimented with this sound before, so it felt like a natural progression. I think this track feels like how we play live, and that’s definitely something we wanted to come across on this album.”
The third track ‘when i was young’ continues with the Country-Rock/Americana aesthetic. The lyrics detail growing up and realising that everything in your life is changing, while trying to hold on to the past. The track opens with an immediate drum beat, that is paired with swirling slide guitar, bringing the track to life. Flynn’s vocal starts off quiet and intimate, but grows into an emotional belt that lifts the track to new heights.
“We started writing new material straight after we released our debut last year, and this track was one of the first to appear. It came to me while on holidays, when I wasn’t even thinking about music. I was reflecting on the past 18 months, and thinking about how busy everyone’s life is now, all the people who aren’t around anymore, and longing for the simplicity that you take for granted when you are young. The chorus came to me first and I knew straight away it was going to be a favourite”
The unassuming ‘cigarette chokehold’ creeps in next – a hazy Indie-Rock ballad, that is reminiscent of Springsteen, telling the story of two people that are a world apart. The track opens softly with twinkling pianos and picked guitar but opens up with a ripping guitar solo that brings the track to new heights.
“This song is very direct lyrically, there’s not much to hide behind. It feels vulnerable, as it’s not a style I usually lean into, but I feel it works for the track. It was the first song I wrote for the album, after someone I love very much moved away, and I feel it inspired a lot of the other songs thematically. I was listening to a lot of Americana at the time – Tom Petty, Neil Young, Springsteen, and I wanted to write something that could be stripped back to just an acoustic guitar and vocal if it wanted to.”
Opening side-B is ‘in your eyes‘ – an Indie-Rock track that shows off more Americana influences, but this time with a darker edge. The track creates a brooding atmosphere, opening with melancholic slide guitar, backed by pulsating drums and trance like rhythm guitars. It follows the story of someone who keeps self-sabotaging the best parts of their life. This song is the perfect example of the album’s direction – Country/Americana song writing meets live and raw Alt Rock energy.
Flynn – “This track was the one that made me realise what direction we wanted to take the album in. It was written late in the process, but when we jammed it together as a band it had such a raw and live energy, that we knew we wanted to try capture on the record. It’s a song about denial and ignoring situations that are clearly making your life much harder.”
Crashing in next is ‘shadows’ – an upbeat, intense and in your face blend of Indie-Rock and Post-Punk, that shows the band leaning into their heavier side. The song details the breakdown of a young man, as he starts to feel he has nothing left to live for. The track is filled with heavy electric guitars and pulsing bass that are reminiscent of Fontaine’s D.C or Idles, while Flynn’s crooning vocal feels like Alligator-era The National. “Watch the blue fade from his eyes/Rehearses that he’s feeling fine/Quickly walks another line/Watch him unwind.”
“this track was written while I was reflecting on a dark period of my life. It almost acted as a cathartic process that allowed me to put repressed feelings to bed. It’s a much more aggressive and visceral song then I would usually write, but it was a honest reaction to the emotions I was dealing with.”
The tongue-in-cheek ‘note to self’ follows – a self-reflective piece that hears the narrator comforting themselves on past decisions and giving advice for the future. Musically, it sees the band leaning into their edgier side that is more apparent on the latter half of the album, while still retaining their classic song writing style.
‘wait’, is an Alt Rock/Shoegaze track that has been a stable in the bands live show for a few years now. It’s a song about trying to reassure someone you’ll be there for them, even when they feel you shouldn’t be. Swirling guitars and thrashy drums create a bed of noise that is complimented by Flynn’s dynamic vocals. “This is probably the oldest song we have in our whole discography. It wasn’t written for this album, I wrote it years ago, and it always stuck around. We released a version of it in the early days, but it never did the song justice. Now we have landed on a version that feels amazing, and we couldn’t be happier with it.”
The final track, ‘reoccurrence’, tells the story of a man looking back on his failed long-term relationship, hoping that their past partner can forgive them for anything they might have done. It starts off gentle but opens into a roaring anthemic beast, with guitar and saxophone solo’s that bring the album to a triumphant but melancholic end.