Belfast’s Consolers haven’t spent their first year in the spotlight trying to deconstruct the DNA of alternative rock. Since their April 2025 arrival, they’ve been far more interested in the visceral payoff of a massive chorus and a well-placed distortion pedal.
Their debut full-length, Deep Breaths, released this February via 1980 Something Studios, is a testament to that ethos: it isn’t reinventing the wheel, but it’s spinning it with undeniable enthusiasm.
Produced by Jonny Woods (Wynona Bleach), the record avoids the over-sanitized sheen that plagues many modern debuts, opting instead for a punchy, mid-90s aesthetic. This is most evident on “Play”, a track built on hook-heavy foundations that translated seamlessly from the studio to their stage. While the songwriting follows a familiar indie/alt-rock blueprint, the execution is tight, infectious, and unapologetically loud.
The band’s true ace in the hole remains Sonja Sleator. In a genre crowded with vocalists who often lean on grit over melody, Sleator’s performance throughout the album is genuinely amazing. She possesses a technical range that elevates standard rock fare into something more cinematic. On the frantic “Inhale”, she navigates the band’s jagged energy with poise, while on “Watcher”, she finds a darker, more controlled pocket that suggests the band has more layers than they’ve yet fully explored.
“Sink On In” anchors the important third track of the record with a rhythmic groove that keeps the momentum from sagging, but it’s “Boiled Over” where the band feels most authentic. It’s a track that captures the raw, slightly chaotic energy of a young group simply having fun in a room together – a quality often lost in the transition from rehearsal room to mastered product.
Deep Breaths sounds professional without losing its garage-born edge. Consolers aren’t pioneers of a new genre, and they don’t need to be. This is the sound of a young band finding their feet and enjoying the climb. They are playing the game by the established rules, but they’re playing it better than most.
Be the first to comment