Following the release of their acclaimed single Knots, Irish duo Driven Snow return with their third single of 2026, Slowly, Gently, offering another window into their forthcoming second album, Mother of Christ, due September 2026.
Composed of husband-wife duo Kieran McGuinness and Emily Aylmer, whose musical careers grew from their respective roles in Delorentos and Republic of Loose, their beautiful, dreamy pop tunes and vocal harmonies grew out of songs penned late at night. While their three children were fast asleep, the couple took these moments of stillness and formed the foundation of their intimate, immersive sound.
Yearning and heartwarming, Slowly, Gently is a tale of beautiful relationships centering on the quiet, unquestioning support that partners offer each other in the toughest of times. For Emily, this song is “one of the most personal on the album”, with both of them instinctively assuming the song was about the other’s support – “I thought it was about Kieran supporting me, while he thought it was about me supporting him.”
Driven by Emily’s smoothly swooping vocal, the balanced harmonies, fuzzing guitar lines and hypnotic, metronomic drums, the song creates an intimate, comforting story – a deep reassurance in a sea of troubles that can surround us all so often.
The song came together in an unexpectedly offhand way, as Kieran recalls: “It was written when Emily was sick in bed. I convinced her to work on it, so she sat at the piano in her pjs and quickly wrote the chorus melody and went back to bed.
The next day, when she heard it, she said “That’s great, where did that come from?!” She didn’t believe she wrote the melody until she heard the recording of her doing it!”.
The single is accompanied by a music video shot by Dylan Troy, featuring all things yellow, a colour which, as Kieran explains, “is said to represent hope, optimism, anxiety, and creativity… all things that are very present in our relationship…
The visuals reflect the song and “gathering all of our pieces”; It’s all about navigating the things that are there, and dealing with the things that you didn’t know are there.”
Recorded and mixed by Tommy McLaughline (Villagers, Soak, Altan, Ailbhe Reddy) at his Attica Studios base in the wilds of Donegal, and mastered by Richard Dowling (WAV Mastering), the single lays the groundwork for forthcoming studio album Mother of Christ, alongside already released singles Dawn Chorus and Knots.
Their 2024 debut album, A Kind of Dreaming, was met with widespread acclaim and described as “Sublime” (Irish Times), “Bewitching” (Irish Independent), and “An album to luxuriate in” (Hot Press). Coverage and features in Sunday Times Magazine, Irish Independent and Hot Press Magazine, alongside national playlists on RTÉ and BBC NI, saw the duo’s audience grow steadily across Ireland, the UK, Europe and as far afield as the USA, Canada, South Africa and Mexico.
Following the widespread acclaim of their debut and a steadily growing international audience, Driven Snow step confidently into this next chapter. Accessible, honest and deeply felt, Mother of Christ is set to unfold like an open diary you’re trusted to hold.
LIVE DATES
Supporting Ham Sandwich:
MAY
1 LIMERICK, The Commercial
8 GALWAY, Monroes
9 GALWAY, The Cornerstone, Woodford
15 KILKENNY, Cleere’s
16 GREYSTONES, The Whale
24 CORK, Seachurch, Ballycotton
Tickets available here
FESTIVALS:
JUNE
6 Galway Folk Festival – tickets
JULY
3 Bobstock, Cape Clear
24 Forest Fest, Emo Park, Co. Laois – tickets
From forthcoming album Mother of Christ due September 2026
Preorder Mother of Christ here from May 1st