WIFESWAP is the Dublin based project of Offaly native Joe Brody. The band release their debut ‘Digging‘ EP on 28th May with impact track ‘Calliope‘.
The EP was recorded by Michael Bell in Start Together Studio (Belfast). The band have previously supported local legends such as Yard and Nerves, as well as international heroes like Pete Doherty (The Libertines) and Been Stellar.
The band consists of Joe Brody (vocals, guitar, songwriting), Jasper Ryan (guitar), Cian Bates (bass) and Lorcan Connolly (drums), all from different parts of the country, finding their way together in college.
Combining art rock and literary influences, WIFESWAP debuted in October 2022 at a sold- out Workman’s Cellar gig. Since then, they’ve taken to the main stage at Whelan’s Ones to Watch festival and multiple times at The Workman’s Club bank holiday events curated by Trevor Dietz (Manager, Fontaines D.C.), carving their niche in the independent Dublin scene.
On the single and EP Joe says : “Calliope is a pulsing love letter to writing. Despite getting distracted by meaningless, empty pursuits of easy dopamine, writing is always on my mind”.
“I think the key to understanding the EP is by digging in to its endless looping nature. I think either becoming numb to the words and the feelings on show or feeling it heavier with each repetition is the best encapsulation of grief in my mind. Grief is the central theme here. It wasn’t so intentional but rather it just emerged when it came time to sequence the track listing before going to record it. In the time that we’ve been away from releasing our last music we’ve all lived with our own grief from very different sources. The more we’ve lived with the record the more it’s all started to make sense”.
Cover Art credit – Martina McHugh