The Love Buzz on a whirlwind year, 1990s music nods, and why Cork is 'a weird place' to perform

Kinsale musicians Kieran Hurley and Aidan Lynch tell Ed Power about their band's evolution

The Love Buzz will headline New Blood at Live At St Luke’s this weekend.

On a recent visit to their hometown of Kinsale, the Love Buzz’s Kieran Hurley and Aidan Lynch bumped into a local tourist guide. “There were a load of Americans on a history walk - about 50 of them. They were being shown around,” laughs bassist Lynch, who slips into an imitation of the guide. “‘Oh that was this or that…oh and over there are our local rock stars’. You can imagine 50 Americans, with hats and sunglasses, all going at the same time, ‘whaaat’.” 

“Rock stars” might be pushing it but the blistering indie three-piece have come a long way in a short time. In the past 12 months, they’ve released an acclaimed mini-album, No Different, played the prestigious Glastonbury festival in the UK and spent March in India, where they performed in Bangalore over St Patrick’s weekend. They are back under the spotlight once more on Saturday, June 22, when they headline New Blood, a showcase for up-and-coming Cork talent, at Live at St Lukes on the city’s northside.

It’s been a rapid ascent for a group whose music has the ragged energy of Nirvana and the melodic punch of classic Pixies. “We formed in 2019 and played maybe three gigs. And then covid happened,” says guitarist and vocalist Hurley.

“All these bands who were our contemporaries were freaking out. And we were, ‘well, we don’t know what else to do – we’ve only just formed’. We wrote as many songs as we could over covid. We did as much as we could and promoted ourselves. A lot of people were looking at their phones, looking at their laptops, watching music videos. We tried to put out as much music and content as we could. Then, when covid ended, we had a platform to springboard off of. We played a gig in [iconic Cork venue] Cyprus Avenue and it was the first gig anyone went to in a year.” 

The hard work has paid off. Last April’s No Different EP was acclaimed by Clash Magazine for its “riotous” energy and its “joyous sing-along hooks and guitar-chugging protean-punk”. They are also part of a generation of artists looking to the cathartic alternative rock of the 1990s for inspiration (their moniker was inspired by the track by Dutch “Nederbeat” group Shocking Blue, as famously covered by Nirvana).

“It was something we were conscious about when we chose the name. But we didn't think anything of it. We thought it sounded cool,” says Hurley, whose brother, Aaron, is bassist with another acclaimed Kinsale outfit, Cardinals.

“We thought it [the wink towards the 1990s] was something that people could get behind – it was something we vibed with. We are sponges with all the music we listen to. A lot of that happens to be 1990s music. Or a lot of it happens to be modern bands that also happen to be fans of 1990s music.” 

Hurley and Lynch grew up in Kinsale, a half hour drive from the city, and moved to Cork to study music at Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa in Ballyphehane, where they met drummer Henry Love.

“We went to music college mainly to look for a drummer. We ended up sticking it out for year. They have amazing staff. We’re still in touch to this day,” says Hurley. “They invited us to do a songwriting workshop in January. We did a thing for three hours – teaching people how we write songs. I was very happy and proud, because we didn’t do the exams or complete the course at all. They are still very helpful.” 

 While taking inspiration from all over, the trio are conscious of their identity as a Cork band – and of the tradition in which they follow. They name-check 1980s indie group Stump – outsider artists whose singular melodies and surrealistic lyrics (their debut LP is called A Fierce Pancake) marked them as a unique, if under-appreciated talent. Nobody else sounded like Stump frontman Mick Lynch, who maintained a straight face firing off dreamlike couplets such as, to dip randomly into 'A Fierce Pancake', “The pyramids were in construction/The pharoah glowed with satisfaction”.

“It's the ballsiness that I admire ,” says Hurley. “The weirdness, being themselves, to [deliver] fried lyrics with conviction. Lyrics are a bit part of Stump for me – they’re controversial because they’re not trying to be run-of-the-mill. That’s pretty cool. And controversial in its own way in pop music.” 

 They feel Cork has a healthy music scene but wonder whether audiences in the city and county could be more open to musicians from the rest of Ireland. 

“Very proud to be from Cork. Loads of great Cork bands that went under the rug,” says Hurley, before pausing to add a caveat. “Cork is a weird place. It’s a hard place for bands to gig if you’re not from Cork. It’s hard to come down and put on a show and expect people to come out. There’s a lot of things I don’t like about the Cork scene to be honest. But they say every 20 years, there’s a revival. And apparently it’s happening now. It would be great to be on that wave.” 

He doesn’t mean that as a criticism – more an observation of how the scene in the city seems to function.

“I see people that come down from Dublin or Galway that try to put on shows, find it hard to get people to come to the shows,” says Hurley. “That’s unfortunate. I’m still trying to understand the Cork gig-goer. In Galway they have a different attitude where people go to everything. Here they have a bit more of a taste. That’s fine. I’m the same. It’s a hard time for people outside Cork to gig. That’s what I don’t like about it.” 

Their short, yet productive career is filled with highlights. One that stands out was from last year’s Glastonbury festival, where they clocked up a blitz of shows across the weekend. 

“We played five gigs in four days. The last was one of the main stages, the Woodsies stage. It used to be the John Peel Stage. It was on at 11 o’clock in the morning. My voice was [fading]. I said to the guys on backing vocals, ‘you need to look out for me there’. But it was great craic. Some experience – and a taste of what it could be. That pushed us to treat it like a job. Let’s play these festivals every other day.” 

•  The Love Buzz headline New Blood at Live At St Luke’s Saturday June 22. The event also features free gigs earlier in the day.

Blood Actually – Acts to Watch out for at New Blood 

Eternal Youth Eternal Beauty, Cork Coffee Roasters, 3pm 

Tralee solo artist Neil O’Carroll presents an afternoon of soulful acoustic balladry 

The Cliffords, St Luke’s 

Led by singer Iona Lynch, The Cliffords have set themselves the mission of “capturing the essence of love, heartbreak, and cathartic joy through its dynamic and emotional sound”. It’s a task the five-piece carry off with aplomb, most recently on their dreamy debut EP, Strawberry Scented, which has the haunting, radiant quality of Mazzy Star or Cocteau Twins 

Pebbledash, St Luke’s 

As with the Love Buzz, shoe-gaze-influenced Pebbledash came together in the shadow of covid while their early, post-lockdown success was centred on Fred Zeppelins, a crucial proving ground for up-and-coming talent.

AbbieLee, Henchy’s, 10.30pm 

The Cork-based producer specialises in glimmering dance beats and irresistible house tempos.