B-Side Guys

Cathal MacGabhann obsessed over tempo like others fixate on lyrics or tone. When The Altered Hours entered the studio to finish “Such a Steal,” they copied the exact speed he’d locked onto during home demos, recognizing that this specific pulse carried the song’s initial energy forward. The Cork quintet’s attention to such granular details—which BPM maintains emotional truth—explains their evolution from underground fixtures to artists confident enough to tour with Fontaines D.C. across Japan and Australia.

Written in a single hour-long rush, “Such a Steal” emerged fully formed from what MacGabhann describes as the ether. This efficiency doesn’t suggest carelessness but rather the kind of creative alignment that happens when a band has spent fourteen years—since forming in 2010—developing shared vocabulary. Their history touring with The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Pop Group, and members of Spacemen 3, plus releases on A Recordings, Penske, and Art For Blind, has sharpened their ability to capture atmosphere without overworking it.

MacGabhann’s lyrical explanation reveals contradictions the music explores: loving the world while maintaining distance from its beauty, finding even breeze on skin overwhelming enough to require isolation. The Altered Hours swap their typical soaring hooks for more solemn contemplation here, their shoegaze atmospherics and garage-rock grit serving reflective rather than propulsive purposes. This shift demonstrates range within their already eclectic catalog, the band refusing static approach across their upcoming self-titled third album for Pizza Pizza Records.

Producer McLarnon’s warm, tactile production captures details that honor their psych-rock roots while opening into new territory. The Altered Hours have become synonymous with specific indie-rock fuzz lately, but “Such a Steal” proves they can deploy that sonic signature in service of veiled meanings and emotional complexity rather than pure visceral impact. Their immersive sound and dedication to independent spirit has made them vital within European alternative scenes, and this track demonstrates why—they’ve grown together, maintaining underground credibility while stepping confidently into broader recognition. Sometimes the breeze really is too much, and The Altered Hours understand how to translate that sensory overload into patient, measured sound.