The Goo 1
Interview Words: Shar Dullaghan CLIFFORDS Cliffor
ds are not slowing down. Following the triumphant release of ‘Salt of the Lee’ (2025) the Cork four piece have transcended all expectations and are steering towards success. Ahead of their highly anticipated November UK & Ireland tour, we caught up with the band to discuss the inception of ‘Salt of the Lee’, the second Irish cultural revival, and the importance of political freedom in art. How was your experience recording ‘Salt of the Lee’ compared to 2024’s ‘Strawberry Scented’? Gavin: It was a lot harder in a way, the first EP came together so smoothly because we had been playing those songs for years, with this EP, we took a long time to get the songs right. We tried a few different studios and different recordings to get the right vibe that we were going for. There was a lot more work put into it because we wanted to make the EP as good as possible, and we had a lot more time this time to make it right. You had mentioned that you had felt 8 almost challenged in perfecting the arrangements and the overall sonic shape of the EP - what were some of your main influences during that time - and did you feel like those influences pushed you in the right direction? Iona: Definitely yeah, I think since we did our album club (each band member would present an album to the group for listening during recording) we were all into the same stuff. So listening to The National and Sufjan Stevens, even some Kate Bush, kind of influenced everything, and it meant that we had the right language to then go in to chat to Richie (Kennedy at Battery Studios in London) our producer and have the right references and we were all being steered in the right direction. Thematically the EP seems incredibly cohesive to me, upon my listening I felt like the complexities of love in all its folly and girlhood were explored beautifully, but that’s me as a listener - in the songwriting process what themes were guiding you? Iona: I think it just came out, the EP is kind of a reflection on the last few years after Strawberry Scented. It was kind of college for us, like 20-22, which were incredibly busy years - relationships ended and we were very involved in the Cork music scene and lots of early twenty’s things were happening. I had a friend who passed away at a very young age and that kinda completely changed how I saw the world in writing and it kind of influenced everything then. Everything was through a different lens, you’re thrown very quickly into an adult world, and we were closing that chapter of our lives, I think. Locon: When I look back, I feel like it’s a big transition project into who we are now, from kids I suppose to - I guess we’re adults now. Gavin: And Covid I think, covid was a few empty years. You went from secondary school, cause we all graduated during covid, so you went from being a kid, to two years of covid and then oh wait you’re 21 years old now, you actually have to be an adult now and do adult things. There was no time to realise what you were getting