From the embarrassment of musical riches that is Ireland in 2025 come Nerves with their second EP. Out on the 15th of August.

Nerves released a truly outstanding debut EP in March 2024 entitled Glórach, which translates as Noise (or Boisterous). It announced the arrival of a serious musical outfit with both skill and interesting ideas.

Iarmhaireacht (pronounced ee-war-acht) is a far more abrasive outing. The word beautifully translates as “loneliness felt at dawn.” What an awesome word. It continues on a number of themes from Glórach. Both feature samples of old TV and film recordings of life in Ireland from the 1950s and earlier. The point they make is that themes of difficulty, of staying or emigrating are as valid today as they were seventy odd years ago. It is a different way of approaching the same feelings and conundrums as For Those I Love deal with on another brilliant recent Irish album, Carving The Stone.

Glórach was a far more tuneful affair. Last track ‘Enclosed’ gives more of a sense of the direction they have taken on this second offering. With this being so slight, with three tracks of the eight given over to their samples from the past, this only leaves two unreleased tracks to talk about. It is a good excuse to discuss the work as a whole though, as the three singles to this point were all real talking points.

‘Takes a Second’ sounds phenomenal. It opens with an insistent and quick drum rhythm from tapping near the edge of the rim while a piece of feedback loops around, more guitar noises emerge in discordant shards. It all starts to coalesce around edgy, panicked vocals with the guitars and drums growing in intensity. This continues to build, reaching a peak with about thirty seconds to go for a wonderfully heavy breakdown on the end.

Then we plough straight into ‘Dirty Fingers.’ It carries on the same paranoid style of vocal delivery and a different kind of industrial undertow punctuated by even more discordant stabs of guitar.

‘Through My Chest’ is the first unreleased track. It begins feeling more like a film soundtrack for a horror movie, an uneasy feeling of dread. Lyrically, like all the tracks on here, it details a relationship breaking down and in it’s final stages of death. There is a constant sense of what is being lost in terms of the time invested in the relationship and the sense of jealousy and guilt that mixes into seeing that partner moving apart from us.

The second new track is ‘Act of Contrition.’ It starts with a slow spoken word opening before almost turning into a full on doomcore track. It feels like we are at a wake, or a funeral. For what is not made explicit, but, given the rest of the tracks, it would seem likely this is the symbolic death of the relationship, that it has finally ended. Towards the end this builds in an intensity that reminded me of French band BRUIT ≤. ‘Act of Contrition’ bleeds into final track and single ‘Don’t Let Go.’ It is a fantastic conclusion to a wonderful collection of tracks. It slow builds in glorious style for nearly two minutes before opening into the sort of track Fontaines DC would be proud of.

Glórach was stunning, Iarmhaireacht is almost equal, but it is such a different animal. The path to success for this band probably lies between the two approaches. Don’t forget the tunes when they can clearly do them so well, but don’t be afraid to experiment and try things. By focusing in intense detail on the end of a relationship it creates a strong sustained experience. It is the musical expression of relationship breakdown as mental health crisis. It really reinforces just how much of an effect these moments can have upon people. This is a must listen, a fantastic band that put real thought into their work. More please.

For Those I Love: Carving The Stone