SON OF THE HOUND to play Belfast show on April 3rd at Limelight 2

SON OF THE HOUND to play Belfast show on April 3rd at Limelight 2

Son of The Hound is guitar pop brainchild of Irish troubadour Michael McCullagh. Simultaneously melancholic and euphoric, his outsider anthems of life’s light and shade have fostered a connection with his fans. If you’ve attended one of Son Of The Hounds raucous live shows you will have witnessed the deafening sing-alongs, swaying hips and an audience hanging on to McCullagh’s every word. McCullagh has found a kinship with his fans who find solace in the romance of losing and hope in trying.

Hotpress Magazine described The Also-Rans, the first single from his debut album as ‘contemplative yet rabble-rousing, a powerful outsider anthem’

To launch this project McCullagh eschewed the conventional music video route. He instead wrote and filmed a project to exist adjacently to the single, a six-part mini web-series called The Also-Rans, a wry look at a fictional musician releasing a single and booking a gig that culminated in The Also-Rans launch party- a mesh of fiction and reality with McCullagh debuting his songs from the album at a feverish sold-out show in Belfast. The Also-Rans music and series combined has 80’000 streams.

McCullagh continued to embrace the idea of transparency and community with his fans by hosting Mad Notions, a weekly podcast loosely based on music myths, where his audience went for weekly updates on Son of The Hound studio progress, gig information, and exclusive debuts. The podcast has 50’000 downloads.

Now, McCullagh has distilled all this energy into Cheers, Sound, Good Luck – a ten track LP that soundtracks the overarching feeling of being alive, scared and hopeful in 2019. In it’s lighter moments it has the thoughtful buoyancy of Vampire Weekend and Haim, in it’s more solemn moments it’s reminiscent of The War on Drugs or Arcade Fire.

His second single ‘You Are Alive’ sounds like The Ronettes distilled through Joe Strummer, a t-shirt gripping sing along anthem sure to be a festival favourite this summer. With honest songwriting and lyrics, this debut album is immediately impressive and engaging, setting McCullagh up for an exciting year. Son of The Hound is rising prospect in Ireland and beyond.

Phil Taggart – BBC Radio 1: Son of the Hound’s new album is the record 2019 deserves. It’s not caught up in itself it’s the truthful balance of human condition. It’s raw, passionate, reflective and hopeful. It’s his best work to date!’

Xsnoize Author
Mark Millar is the founder of XS Noize and looks after the daily running of the website as well as hosting interviews for the weekly XS Noize Podcast. Mark's favourite album is Achtung Baby by U2.

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