Letter to self

SPRINT

Letter to self

City Slang

February 07, 2024
Web Exclusive

By Lee Campbell

Garage-punk band SPRINTS hails from the Irish capital. Spearheaded by guitarist and vocalist Karla Chubb, the Dublin quartet have well and truly roared into Ireland's burgeoning guitar scene following two previous EPs. Their debut in a long time, Letter to selfrecorded in less than two weeks with Daniel Fox (of the Gilla Band) at Black Box Studios in France's Loire Valley.

The fuse lights quickly on the “Ticking” opener. It's a tense and fraught beginning. The Pixies influence on the warped “Heavy” is desperately thick. Colm O'Reilly's guitar part on “Shadow of a Doubt” is a sonic high note paired with Chubb's vocal energy channeling her inner Courtney Love.

Chubb's tradition is full of historical trauma, honesty and fiery persistence. She is honest about her inner demons with music serving as the ultimate catharsis. Case in point, as he sings, “my mind is hungry for better days” in the ADHD diagnosis that inspired “A Wreck (A Mess).” Alternatively, “Cathedral” explores Chubb's own bisexual experiences as he struggles with internalized homophobia. This record is fully live, no better evidenced than by Chubb's piercing scream from the depths of his lungs on “Literary Mind”.

These guys have been touring since forming in 2019 with songs that completely relate to what many of the younger generation have been experiencing on a mental level in these turbulent times. It's an incredibly intense debut. Now with such a bulging bag of knockout tunes, the energy and juice will go up another notch in a true Irish shootout of a live show. (www.sprintsmusic.com)

Author Rating: 8/10