Following the momentum of their recent singles Heavy,I Will Follow, and Find It For Yourself, Irish folk-rock band The Fynches return with Lead On – the final single ahead of their forthcoming self-titled debut album, due for release on October 7th, 2025.
The brainchild of Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (lead vocals and guitar) and Oisiìn Walsh-Peelo (vocals and keys), The Fynches also comprise Camryn Teehan (drums), Fionn O’Neill (bass), and Julia-Maria (cello). Vocal melodies and soulful keys meet vibrant guitar lines, soaring strings, and a powerful rhythm section.
New single Lead On is an old-time ballad that follows in a tradition of homespun folk. Marked by the reassuring trudge of the bassline that opens the song, glowing keys mix with rustic acoustic guitar, while strings synchronise with plaintive vocal key changes. A wanderer’s lament, ‘Lead On’.
The single is one of the fruits of a writing trip brothers Ferdia & Oisín took to the Pyrenees mountains in Spain. “You can hear this reflected in the song with a reference to Sabañanigo (a nearby town), and our use of a Spanish style nylon string guitar. This song always brings me back there,” explains Ferdia.
He continues “we recorded all our demos on a Tascam PortaOne cassette machine which restricted us and had an impact on the raw/dry feel we went for in the guitars and rhythm section. There’s quite a lot of tapping our guitars with sticks and shaking little shakers. Unusually Oisín was playing Bass while writing ‘Lead On’ which is why it ended up being such a bass driven recording.”
Brothers Ferdia and Oisín were raised in a musical family in County Wicklow. Composer and arranger Oisín honed his skills touring and recording with bands such as Villagers, Flyte, Hudson Taylor, and Bombay Bicycle Club. A natural frontman, Ferdia found fame on the silver screen starring in Sing Street, as well as roles in the multi-Oscar-winning film CODA, Pistol (Danny Boyle), and Four Letters of Love (starring Pierce Brosnan and Helena Bonham-Carter).
The Fynches spent much of 2024 hunkered down in the studio together refining tracks. Now, these musical blueprints have developed into a full statement album, set for release on 7th October 2025. With brooding ballads, raucous crowd pleasers, and even a requiem interlude, the band’s début is marked by dynamism, playfulness, and musical virtuosity. Uncommonly, brothers Ferdia and Oisín sometimes exchange lead vocal duties across songs – at times even verses – balancing their timbres in synergy.
By self-titling the release of The Fynches the band are stamping the mark of their identity. With the prolific work ethic of Ferdia and Oisín, and a hoard of material already in wait, this album fires the starting gun for what is to come from The Fynches.