B-Side Guys

Big Sleep formed after Rónán Connolly and Italian drummer Matteo Poli met bassist Aidan Gray and guitarist Naiara Clarke LaFuente at an illegal forest rave, which explains why “Old Friend” opens gently before unfurling into something that sounds like a Dublin pub sing-along scaled to festival size. The track is the final preview of Holy Show (out February 20 via LAB Records), a debut album named after the Irish expression for emotional chaos or public embarrassment. “Old Friend” functions as the opposite—a song about friendship, grief, and gratitude that the band describes as “for those we love who’ve passed away and for the real ones who are still alive and kicking.”

The arrangement builds with the kind of patient confidence that comes from 18 months of tireless gigging, from underground tunnel shows beneath the M50 to sold-out European tours. What starts as an intimate acoustic reflection gradually adds layers—drums that feel like heartbeats getting stronger, guitars that sweep in like memory made audible. The Dublin alt-rockers balance influences from The Cure to Bon Iver while maintaining their own identity, creating what Hot Press called “summery sun kissed vibes” in their 9/10 album review. “Old Friend” manages to look backward without bitterness and forward with resolve, which is harder than it sounds when you’re cataloging the dead alongside the living.

Holy Show splits into two thematic halves—youthful nostalgia on Side A, heartbreak and disillusionment on Side B—before circling back to hope with closing tracks “Be Alright” and “Old Friend.” For a band that’s played Forbidden Fruit, Electric Picnic, and Latitude while earning RTÉ’s Rising Artists of 2024 designation, this feels like exactly the right closing statement. The album explores transience and impermanence across ten tracks, each one its own emotional holy show. “Old Friend” suggests they’ve learned something from all that chaos: gratitude sounds better when it’s earned through loss, and anthems hit harder when they’re built on real friendship instead of manufactured sentiment.